My palm tree has the dreaded red weevil (punturollo rosso?)...I have been reading about its appearance in the palm trees of Saubadia, and now it has arrived here in Latina. Has anyone seen it elsewhere in Italy yet? Any experts out there? I believe that it can destroy palm trees throughout the country. I must meet with people in the comune today to discuss my tree.

Doesn't sound promising, if this is the creature you mean.

Mmm. Link didn't work. Wonder if this does ...

http://www.palms.org/palmsjournal/2002/redweevil.htm

quote:

Originally posted by Graeme:
Doesn't sound promising, if this is the creature you mean.

Mmm. Link didn't work. Wonder if this does ...

http://www.palms.org/palmsjournal/2002/redweevil.htm

Yes it does.

We've lost a lot of palm trees around town. Only a few have been replaced and some can't be, at least not to the same height that they were. I do know that all the ones left have been treated in town. It was a little strange to see someone dressed like they work in a Nulcear power plant injecting the palm trees with a huge needle in the main piazza in town.
The ones in the countryside are the ones I'm worried about because who will treat them? Then again if I was a tree I wouldn't want that big needle!

Jeffo

Just returned from the comune...as expected, this nasty weevil is a huge concern here for the city as the insect can/will destroy palms throughout the area. (Yeah, doing a search indicates that they are very destructive.) What the comune is using to treat the affected palms here is only experimental...no one is certain whether or not it will be effective. Either way, private palm, private problem...owner of property pays to treat. (Treatment estimate for this palm is several thousand Euro!) I believe this beautiful, double palm will have to be cut down and burned.
Jeffo, have there been alot of palms affected in your area?

Lisann,
We've lost 4 out of 12 of the really big palms on a round piazza in town. That's the only place I really noticed it because it's obvious something is missing.
The smaller palms that line the pedestrian streets either are immune or not worth treating because I didn't see them working on those. Now that I think about it, I would say at least a half dozen have been replaced.

Sorry about your loss. Hopefully it can be replaced.

Jeffo


Jeffo