Bug FAQSouth American Palm Weevil
Rhynchophorus palmarum · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Dryophthoridae
Also called: Palm weevil
Source: Wikipedia
Adults are large black beetles about one and a half inches long, while larvae can grow up to two inches. The weevil attacks the hearts of palms, often killing the tree, and can also spread a nematode that causes red ring disease in coconut, oil palm, and dates. Females lay up to 693 eggs; the eggs hatch in a few days, larvae feed for 7-8 weeks, pupate for 1-3 weeks, and adults live 5-8 weeks.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The adults are large black beetles.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults measure about one and a half inches, and larvae can reach two inches in length.
Source: Wikipedia
Is it a pest in the house?
It is also an occasional pest of sugar cane.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It has been recorded as an occasional pest of sugar cane.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae tunnel through palm hearts, which can kill the infested palm. The species carries a nematode that causes red ring disease in coconut, oil palm, and dates.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Eggs hatch in three to five days, larvae feed for seven to eight weeks, pupation lasts one to three weeks, and adults live five to eight weeks.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
By the time damage is noticed, the palm is usually already dead.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 1 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What plants does the South American Palm Weevil damage?
It attacks cultivated coconut, date, oil palms and can also affect sugar cane.
Source: Wikipedia
How large are the adult weevils and their larvae?
Adults are about one and a half inches long, while larvae can grow up to two inches.
Source: Wikipedia
How long does the weevil’s life cycle last?
Eggs hatch in 3-5 days, larvae develop for 7-8 weeks, pupate for 1-3 weeks, and adults live 5-8 weeks.
Source: Wikipedia
Does the weevil spread disease to plants?
Yes, it vectors a nematode that causes red ring disease in coconut, oil palm, and dates.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Dryophthoridae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhynchophorus_palmarum
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.