The African Palm Weevil or ''Rhynchophorus phoenicis'' is a species of beetles belonging to the family

Curculionidae The Curculionidae are a family of weevils, commonly called snout beetles or true weevils. They are one of the largest animal families with 6,800 genera and 83,000 species described worldwide. They are the sister group to the family Brentidae. Th ...

Varieties

* ''Rhynchophorus phoenicis'' var. ''niger'' Faust, 1899 * ''Rhynchophorus phoenicis'' var. ''ruber'' Faust, 1899

Description

''African Palm Beetles'' can reach a body length of about 25 mm. These large beetles are considered a serious pest in palm plantations, particularly damaging young palms, mainly ''

Cocos nucifera The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the f ...

'', ''

Metroxylon sagu ''Metroxylon sagu'', the true sago palm, is a species of palm in the genus '' Metroxylon'', native to tropical southeastern Asia. The tree is a major source of sago starch. Description True sago palm is a suckering (multiple-stemmed) palm, e ...

'', Raphia species, ''

Elaeis guineensis ''Elaeis guineensis'' is a species of Arecaceae, palm commonly just called oil palm but also sometimes African oil palm or macaw-fat. The first Western world, Western person to describe it and bring back seeds was the French naturalist Michel Ad ...

'' and ''

Phoenix dactylifera ''Phoenix dactylifera'', commonly known as the date palm, is a flowering-plant species in the palm family Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet #Fruits, fruit called dates. The species is widely cultivated across North Africa, northern A ...

''. The life cycle of the ''African Palm Weevil'' is similar to that of other ''Rhynchophorus'' species. The adults lay eggs in wounds in the stems of dying or damaged parts of palms. After hatching, the weevil larvae excavate tunnels in the trunk and feed on the shoot and young leaves, frequently leading to the death the host plants. The larvae of this palm weevil are edible.

Distribution

The species is widespread throughout tropical and equatorial Africa, from

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

, Nigeria and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

References

Biolib

Encyclopaedia of Life

Plantwise
* James TANYI TAMBE1, Paola RIOLO, Justin Nambangi OKOLLE, Nunzio ISIDORO, Pietro Paolo FANCIULLI, Romano DALLAI

Sexual size differences and colour polymorphism of Rhynchophorus phoenicis in the Southwest region of Cameroon Dryophthorinae Beetles of Africa Beetles described in 1801 {{Dryophthorinae-stub