March 29, 2024
Is Palmageddon coming to California?
RIVERSIDE – (INT) - A palm tree-killing insect that is already established in San Diego County and likely to spread.

The South American palm weevil has traditionally been found in South and Central America, the Caribbean and Mexico. Scientists, farmers and nursery industry officials worry that it will threaten California’s $70 million ornamental palm industry and $30 million commercial date industry.

“My personal feeling is we might be on the verge of a crisis now,” said Mark Hoddle, an entomologist at the University of California, Riverside. “The big problem is we don’t know how far the weevil has spread. We really need help from the public in tracking its spread.”

Detection of the South American palm weevil was confirmed in 2011 at San Ysidro in San Diego County, about two miles from the Mexican border. It is likely that the weevils flew from Tijuana, where infestations and dead palms had been detected in 2010.

Researchers will meet Wednesday at Sweetwater Regional County Park in Bonita, California, near Chula Vista, to compare notes and develop a strategy to fight the pest.
Story Date: November 3, 2016
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