Life Cycle of Red Palm Weevil

Eggs  - the female RPW  lays eggs in soft or damaged tissue, up to 5 per day.  Each female produces between 200 and 350 eggs.  The eggs hatch within 3 days.                                                                                                                                                        
 Larvae  - the larvae eat the soft tissue within the tree and cause damage to the interior of the palm as they leave empty tunnels behind them. The rate of development at this stage is temperature dependant and takes between 1 and 3 months, with  late stage larvae obtaining lengths of  up to 5.0cm.                                                                                                                                        
Pupa  - the larvae make a cocoon out of palm fibres and these can often be found at the base of the leaves.  The period of development at this stage is between 11 and 45 days.                                                                                                                      
Adult — the adult weevils remain in the palm so long as there is adequate food, also eating the tissue causing further damage.  Reproduction and egg laying can occur without an adult leaving the palm, hence many generations of the RPW can be found within a heavily infested tree. The adults are large reddish brown beetles, about 3.0cm with a long curved snout (rostrum) which is used to bore into the palm.  They are capable of flights up to 7km.