More red palm weevils in spring and autumn

A few dedicated weevil trappers in Alhaurin el Grande and Cartama have been collecting data for over a year.  Here are the results for our catches in 2010.  It is interesting to note that during the hotter months of July and August  and the colder month of January the number of weevils trapped was lower than the milder months in Spring and Autumn. December was particularly mild which could explain the high numbers caught so late in the year.

These figures are a good indication of the number of weevils in flight and in search of new palms to infest throughout the year and it will be interesting to see this years results for a comparison.  In my own personal trap the figures are already higher than last year(we trapped 90 in January), and as we observe so many  deceased palms, everything suggests that this pest is approaching epidemic proportions!