Red Palm weevils found in Laguna Beach, CA

[Tomas]

Cristobal,

you also could find some interlaced fibers in the lawn below, or even an entire cocoon like this (left side)

http://arte-cultura-recensioni.noiblogger.com/files/2008/10/abruzzo-punteruolo-rosso-palma-larva-bozzolo-insetto.jpg

Tomas

[Cristóbal]

OK.

Tomorrow i can take more fotos. I want to look for more evidences of the red palm weevil for when i contact the government and ask to them send some persons to revise the palm.

What i find, i post here.

I hope it is not red palm weevil. But if it is this problem we now have some very very big problem.

Edited December 1, 2010 by Cristóbal

[Ron Vanderhoff]

In a brief message today from Nick Nisson, Orange County's entomolgist working on the infestation, he told me that the CDFA survey crews are undergoing intensive training this week from palm weevil specialists - so it sounds like no ground crews are in the field at present. He said they will continue their inspections as soon as possible.

Nick is also involved in the project training himself and he did not know if the Huntington Beach or San Clemente sites had been completed yet. If not, he said "they will all be inspected as soon as possible". He also said the Tijuana photos "look very suspicious" and wants to thank everyone for all of their tips.

Ron

[Ferry]

Good morning

Back from Africa, I have discovered the messages from Cristobal regarding infested palms in Mexico. Last year,I had exchanges with mexican officials regarding infested palms in Celaya. They assured that infestation in Mexico that was known for several years was due to Rhynchophorus palmarum. Whatever the involved rhynchophorus species, the infestation modalities and consequently the visual symptoms are similar. The strategy to be adopted is also the same.

I have seen in the last messages a lot of photo of infested palms, I would like to know if these palms have been immediatly sanitized?

I am please to see that CFDA officials are trained on RPW detection. The second urgent path will be to organize public meeting and field training to as many persons as possible. According to all the observations done thanks to Ron mobilization, it is clear that infestation is already serious and probably very extended. Is is quite normal due to the presence of the pest for more than one year and the advanced state of infestation that were presented the first palms when they were discovered.

Regards.

Michel

[Tom S]

Another infested palm was found today in Laguna Beach. maybe 100 yards from the last one. At the time I was there they were still investigating, but some damage and one adult had been found. There were local, state, national, and international experts there.

Tom

[Tomas]

Hi Tom,

how was the weevil detected? The palm doesn't show any apparent damage.

Tomas

[Tom S]

Hi Tom,

how was the weevil detected? The palm doesn't show any apparent damage.

Tomas

Hi Tomas,

This is within the area where the AG department checks all the trees weekly. I believe he told me the first sign was a dead adult weevil at the base. When I was there, they had some damaged leaf bases laying in the street. I drive by this area at least twice a day and am always looking at that tree. I was impressed that they found it.

There were so many experts there staring at the tree, I felt like I was at a Palm Society meeting.

Tom

[mlovecan]

Good work on your government workers!

The pattern may well be following our infestation precisely...only CIDP's and only those in very close proximaty.

Tom, do you know if the traps have caught any RPW at all yet?

Regards

Maurice

[Tom S]

Good work on your government workers!

The pattern may well be following our infestation precisely...only CIDP's and only those in very close proximaty.

Tom, do you know if the traps have caught any RPW at all yet?

Regards

Maurice

I Don't believe any have been caught in the traps yet. I was told they expect the major activity to be in the spring.

They were very thankful of all the Palm Society members help, and said please notify them of any trees with even the slightest suspicion of RPW.

Tom

[Cristóbal]

I take these fotos today of the palm here in Tijuana.

I find one weevil, black color, and 2 cocoons. I have them in my house.

I AM VERY VERY VERY WORRIED. I am about 200 kilometers/120 miles south of laguna beach, california.

Please send these fotos inmediately to the experts working in this problem !

They can come here, and also members of palmtalk, and see the bug and cocoons if they want - send PM for this.

I am in tijuana all this week, in most weeks i work in other citys of baja california.

I dont know to what persons to talk in the government here, i think things can move more faster if some body can send these fotos to international experts and than they contact the correct people in the mexican government.

What can i do with the weevil ? I think it is dead for long time, it is very dry.

What can i do with the cocoons ? Open them or leave them ?

In this foto i take when i drive to the palm, i can see one new dead frond on ground.

On the ground by the trunk of the palm, i find one dead weevil.

I also find 2 cocoons by the dead frond.

I also find this hole, is it from the weevil ?

In my house i take these fotos now:

[Dypsisdean]

Nice work Cristóbal.

I hope everyone in California appreciates the great photos and help.

[phoenixbob]

I take these fotos today of the palm here in Tijuana.

I find one weevil, black color, and 2 cocoons. I have them in my house.

...

Let's not panic too much, friends.

To my admittedly not-well-trained eye, these look more like Rhychophorus palmarum than R. ferrugineus to me.

Hope so.

Obviously an expert needs to examine this weevil.

[Tomas]

I take these fotos today of the palm here in Tijuana.

I find one weevil, black color, and 2 cocoons. I have them in my house.

...

Let's not panic too much, friends.

To my admittedly not-well-trained eye, these look more like Rhychophorus palmarum than R. ferrugineus to me.

Hope so.

Obviously an expert needs to examine this weevil.

I am not an expert, but I agree, R. palmarum, already present in Central and South America, reported as transmitter of red ring disease in palms, so I suppose less destructive and prolific than the RPW.

I learn that there are many weevils killing palms (R. cruentatus is another one), their modus operandi is the same, but only the RPW is so destructive to palms. I wonder why.

Tomas

[BS Man about Palms]

Exceptional work Cristobal!

[DoomsDave]

Great work, Crostobal!

kEEP LOOKING, AMIGO!

WE NEED ALL THE HELP WE CAN GET TO STOP THIS HORROR.

OR, AT LEAST MANAGE IT . . . .

[MattyB]

Amazing pictures Cristobal! Thanks for keeping an eye out.

[joe_OC]

Great work, Cristobal....

What are the distinctions, besides the dead CDP, that it is the RPW species? It doesn't look anything like the pictures that I have seen online of the RPW?

[Dypsisdean]

I take these fotos today of the palm here in Tijuana.

I find one weevil, black color, and 2 cocoons. I have them in my house.

...

Let's not panic too much, friends.

To my admittedly not-well-trained eye, these look more like Rhychophorus palmarum than R. ferrugineus to me.

Hope so.

Obviously an expert needs to examine this weevil.

I am not an expert, but I agree, R. palmarum, already present in Central and South America, reported as transmitter of red ring disease in palms, so I suppose less destructive and prolific than the RPW.

I learn that there are many weevils killing palms (R. cruentatus is another one), their modus operandi is the same, but only the RPW is so destructive to palms. I wonder why.

Tomas

Would this not be noteworthy in and of itself? Has this pest previously been observed in SoCal? Or has this pest been present in SoCal for some time already? It obviously did a job on this CIDP regardless of what type of weevil it is.

[joe_OC]

Apparently,

R. palmarum is known to be in Mexico. Here is a doc on this species:

Rhynchophorus_palmarum.doc

Joe

[Mats]

R. palmarum is known to be in Mexico. Here is a doc on this species...

Click here to download a .pdf file that describes the three palm weevils.

[Cristóbal]

I think this is not red palm weevil rhynchophorus ferrugineus but the black weevil rhynchophorus palmarum, but i am not expert.

But if this is true, now there are 2 weevils in this region that do the same thing to palms.

You can walk to USA from where this palm is.

I see in the documents, they find the black weevil in Baja California Sur the first time in 2003. If this weevil is the black weevil, obvious it is now in Tijuana and very sure now in California/USA.

Of the information i read about the red palm weevil, there are diferent types of color of the red palm weevil.

Is it possible the weevil i find, is the red palm weevil but now black for it is in the sun all day ? I find this on the south part of the palm. Of course i dont know how long this dead weevil is there, may be many months ?

Or is it really the black weevil ?

Can some body please send these fotos to experts to confirm what is this weevil ?

If necesary, i can go to California with this weevil if persons need to see it to confirm.

We need to know.

Cristóbal

Edited December 3, 2010 by Cristóbal

[Ron Vanderhoff]

Cristobal and all,

I just sent a follow-up on the Rhychophorus find in Tijuana to Nick Nisson, our Orange County entomolgist. I told him about the discovery of the pupal cases and the dead adult weevil (Ihad already sent him the images of the CIDP). I also directed him to this PalmTalk page to see Cristobal's very good pictures. I copied Dr. John Kabashima, Dr. Don Hodel and Dr. Mark Hoddle, who are all involved in this issue.

When I hear back from Mr. Nisson I will let you all know.

Ron

[WestCoastGal]

I came across this PDF presentation online entitled "Biology and Management of Palm Weevils" by Robin M. Giblin-Davis of the University of Florida/IFAS, Ft. Lauderdale Research and Education Center that I thought had excellent photos of various types of palm weevils and thought I'd share the link. The presentation is 30 pages. Not clear on when this presentation was put together.

Cristobal's photos were excellent (thanks Cristobal, and such an education in viewing them) and from what I can tell the dead adult weevil also appears to me to be an R. palmarum after comparing it's back wing area to that pictured in the presentation. The location of Cristobal's find is indeed worrisome for fellow California palm growers and the damage to that canary palm looks to me to be identical to the RPW. Does this mean we could have 2 varieties to be concerned about here in California?

I check in on this thread routinely now to stay current and think it is a great resource to have. Before now the only weevil I had heard of was the boll weevil that decimated the cotton crop industry here in the U.S. a while back. My eyes have been opened with this thread. I'm in northern California so don't think my recently planted palms are in any imminent danger but after seeing photos and reading accounts from those of you in other affected areas, I at least am aware of this and know what to look for. I see canary palms in my area that look sick or have been removed but it appears to be from wilt. Still hard to see the loss regardless.

I will be interested to hear what officials will say about baiting as a first line of defense and am curious how many females get trapped. I've read that the holes appear in the base of the fronds and thought I had also read the trunk. Does that mean there would be holes in the actual trunk or would they burrow holes in the ground to get to the lower trunk area or is this a misunderstanding? I also have read in a number of places that the weevils are most attracted to distressed or diseased palms or those recently trimmed. I guess that means we should be more vigilant in keeping our palms cared for. As for trimming, if winter season here in California is when they are not outwardly active, is that the best time to trim any fronds you need to?

Ron, Tom and others, thanks for the great reporting from Southern California. BTW is the palm that looked pretty healthy Tom pictured a few posts ago, now the 3rd palm found in the Laguna Beach area to be infested?

Edited December 3, 2010 by WestCoastGal

[mlovecan]

I will be interested to hear what officials will say about baiting as a first line of defense and am curious how many females get trapped. I've read that the holes appear in the base of the fronds and thought I had also read the trunk. Does that mean there would be holes in the actual trunk or would they burrow holes in the ground to get to the lower trunk area or is this a misunderstanding? I also have read in a number of places that the weevils are most attracted to distressed or diseased palms or those recently trimmed. I guess that means we should be more vigilant in keeping our palms cared for. As for trimming, if winter season here in California is when they are not outwardly active, is that the best time to trim any fronds you need to?

I am convinced that trapping RPW in your own garden is a big mistake. This has only hugely increased the presence of the pest in my garden. I have trapped as many as 20-24 per week in one of my two traps last year. A study in india found male to female ratio in trapping to be 1.32:1.

http://www.redpalmweevil.com/RPWReport/India.htm

The weevils are greatly attracted to the bait. However, some enter the trap while others briefly alight on the ledge but then head straight up to the crown of trees above.

As for trunk entry, on Phoenix palms other than CIDP, they normally enter in the area around the adventitious roots. However, they have no problem entering right at the middle of the trunk - though I am convinced this is accomplished with the assistance of the Rhinoceros Beetle ( Oryctes nasicornis ) which first appeared a couple years after the RPW.

I had been expecting a period last year with no trapped weevils. Close monitoring of my traps found no such period. Our climate is quite close to that of San Diego. That said, if you are not seeing the pest flying ( trust me, you will not miss them as the are rather large and clumsy ) and no CIDP's have died in your area, trimming should not be feared.

Regards

Maurice

[Ron Vanderhoff]

I have several updates for everyone following this issue.

The first is a message from Nick Nisson, OC entomologist. I recieved this message early this morning:

"The photos provided by Cristobal are remarkable. Thanks to your notifications and Cristobal’s efforts USDA is in communication with Mexican officials to investigate this Tijuana find site. I will also forward Cristobal’s contact information so that, hopefully, these specimens can be examined and the species determined. In regards to R. palmarum, this palm infesting species is reported from the state of Baja Sur (Garcia-Hernandez JL, Beltran-Morales LF, Loya-Ramirez JG, Morales-Cota JR, Troyo-Dieguez E, Beltran-Morales FA (2003) (First record of Rhynchophorus palmarum (Coleoptera: dryophthoridae) in Baja California Sur). Folia Entomologica Mexicana 42, 415-7.). This Tijuana find is extremely important, regardless of which species is involved and I want to thank all involved for the great effort to detect these weevils. I will keep you posted on all of the other suspect trees in our area that you have reported."

Ron

[Ron Vanderhoff]

Mid morning today I recieved a further update from Nick Nisson about the third CIDP with a positive find for RPW:

"During the assessment and survey of the Laguna Beach area on foot, it was noticed that the tree had very subtle notching in older leaves that were similar to known RPW damage. I do not have a photo to show you, however, this type of notching can be seen in image number 6 in this paper: http://www.palms.org/palmsjournal/2002/redweevil.htm, although limited to a couple of older leaves. The notching, although very subtle, warranted further examination and the suspect leaves were removed and the crown was examined. Resulting from the inspection, an old fragment of a weevil was found inside of a partial cocoon in the leaf base of an older leaf. The fragment included morphology that was diagnostic for RPW allowing the confirmation. This palm provides another important part of the ongoing assessment of the situation in Laguna Beach."

Thanks again, Nick"

I visited this tree this morning and my hat is off to the ground crews for spotting this palm as a suspect. The palm looks amazingly healthy and the notching that Nick describes must be incredibly subtle. I looked at the palm for 15 minutes and counld not see any issue. Congratulations to CDFA, they must be doing some terrific training.

Ron

[MattyB]

Wow, how hard this is going to be to detect. Thanks for all the hard work everyone.

[Ron Vanderhoff]

Also early this morning I recieved this very thorough update from Don Hodel. Don is an Environmental Horticulturist with University of California Cooperative Extension. He is one of North America's foremost palm authorities and a member of the USDA's Technical Working Group for this issue. Don briefly mentions the Tijuana weevil find and then provides an update on the Laguna Beach infestation:

"Thanks for your continued interest in the RPW and the potential find of R. palmarum in Tijuana. The appropriate Mexican officials should be notified about this discovery and a cooperative working group should be formed with US researchers (I see that this has been done).

I just completed three days of most interesting and informative meetings about RPW with USDA, CDFA, international RPW researchers, and UC colleagues and here is a short synopsis of what I gleaned.

1. At this time, the infestation appears to be confined to a relatively small area of LB and does not yet seem to be rapidly spreading. That it is apparently confined to LB is good when one considers that the relative isolation of LB, surrounded by several miles of relatively palm-free wilderness in all directions, would tend to hamper its natural spread. However, movement of infested palms is still a grave concern.

2. By far, Canary Island date palm is the most susceptible or preferred species but if RPW populations are sufficiently high and the preferred pest is lacking, the RPW will move to other species.

3. RPW is attracted to stressed and wounded palms. Wounds, such as those from leaf pruning, “pineapple sculpting”, and trunk peeling, emit an odor that attracts the RPW. Thus, keeping palms in a healthy, well-irrigated condition and avoiding practices that can wound the palm should be avoided. Pruning, if it is done, should be confined to dead leaves only and is best performed in the late fall to winter when RPW activity is much reduced due to cool temperatures. All wounds should be immediately treated with an appropriate insecticide like imidocloprid.

4. RPW is not east to detect in early stages of infestation but some signs include truncated or cut off leaf tips or chewed off or missing mid-blade pinnae (such truncated leaf tips or chewed pinnae can have other causes, though). Also, with training and experience and the use of a good pair of binoculars, tunneling or grooving at the petiole base/leaf base area can usually be observed from the ground. These grooves or tunnels often are filled with cocoons or other material generated by the RPW that has the appearance of shredded wheat. Infestations at this stage can typically be reversed with appropriate treatment. However, if the apical meristem is attacked there is not much hope.

There are two measures involving various degrees of leaf removal that can be employed to monitor and treat for RPW which I will describe in a future article but time prevents me from doing so here.

5. According to international researchers, judicious monitoring and treatment with insecticides like imidocloprid typically lead to effective control and even eradication of the RPW. A prudent approach might be to treat all palms within one kilometer of the infestation with soil applications of imidocloprid (2x/year) and foliar/crown applications of imidocloprid or a fast knock down insecticide (frequency by label recommendation). These treatments can be curative and prophylactic. All palms within 10 kilometers of the infestation should be carefully monitored for infestation. Trapping, because it can actually attract RPWs to uninfested areas and palms, should be left to trained authorities such as USDA and CDFA. The absence of new infestations or RPWs in traps after three years could be considered successful eradication.

You should be made aware that there are differences of opinions emerging about the most appropriate treatments and courses of action. One approach, championed by the international researchers, is cautious and judicious monitoring and treatment, not necessarily removal of palms. In contrast, the other approach advocated by some is more radical, and centers on removal of palms. At this point, I prefer the first approach and, after hearing what the international researchers had to say, I am optimistic, rather than pessimistic, about successfully controlling the RPW.

There’s much yet to be learned about this pest and how to manage it. I’ll keep you informed. If you have any questions, please contact me.

Best wishes, Don"

Ron

[Ron Vanderhoff]

I just recieved the following an email from Dr. Cheryl Wilen. Dr. Wilen is the Area Integrated Pest Management Advisor for Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego Counties. This is in response to the need for another update meeting directed to the public, palm enthusiasts, etc. (somewhat like the Laguna meeting a month ago that was directed at professional arborists):

"Don forwarded your email to me as I am also working on this project. I believe that the information has been forwarded to the USDA and they have sent an inspector to Tijuana. We are organizing an informational meeting at SCREC to be held shortly. We would like to have it sooner than later.

Regards, Cheryl"

The SCREC she is referring to is The UC's South Coast Research and Experiment Station in Irvine. It sounds like a meeting is in the works.

Ron

[WestCoastGal]

Thanks for the updates Ron.

If the concern about spreading these weevils comes from plants that are transported into California, I thought I'd mention that my husband commented to me last week after showing him photos of the RPW and its effect, that when he drove from Vegas back into California a few weeks ago he wasn't even stopped at a checkpoint to ask if he was bringing in any agricultural product in his car. He said vehicles were just being waved on without talking to the drivers. Said there wasn't even a backup of vehicles since they all were passing through. This was in contrast to when we moved to California back in the 1990s and passed through the checkpoint coming in on Interstate 80. Seems like some tightening up at these points in California maybe in order.

Since I suspect a lot of people returning to California by car either have palms in their yards or see places with them in their routine travels, some sort of alert of this pest could be passed on at that point of entry. Maybe some PSA billboards could be set up in strategic locations -- you know saying something like "When weevils wobble (fly), palms fall down. Be part of helping to stop this pest and save our palm trees. To learn more....".

I could also see some a PSA TV commercial or even a browser "advertising" message video showing scenes of typical California palm tree-lined streets etc and then the same views showing what the skyline would look like with CIDP collapse evident, etc. and asking people to click for information on preventing the loss of our palms. Running PSAs like this could be very helpful especially if done before those buggers start leaving the trees and looking for new food. With 3 known trees infested and it doesn't sound like a lot of live bugs caught, I think getting the public involved early on could be very important in stemming the tide.

Edited December 3, 2010 by WestCoastGal

[Cristóbal]

I have several updates for everyone following this issue.

The first is a message from Nick Nisson, OC entomologist. I recieved this message early this morning:

"The photos provided by Cristobal are remarkable. Thanks to your notifications and Cristobal’s efforts USDA is in communication with Mexican officials to investigate this Tijuana find site. I will also forward Cristobal’s contact information so that, hopefully, these specimens can be examined and the species determined. In regards to R. palmarum, this palm infesting species is reported from the state of Baja Sur (Garcia-Hernandez JL, Beltran-Morales LF, Loya-Ramirez JG, Morales-Cota JR, Troyo-Dieguez E, Beltran-Morales FA (2003) (First record of Rhynchophorus palmarum (Coleoptera: dryophthoridae) in Baja California Sur). Folia Entomologica Mexicana 42, 415-7.). This Tijuana find is extremely important, regardless of which species is involved and I want to thank all involved for the great effort to detect these weevils. I will keep you posted on all of the other suspect trees in our area that you have reported."

Ron

Thank you very much Ron, that you give to them my contact information.

When they go to see this palm in Tijuana they probaly find more weevils, but if no i have this weevil and the 2 cocoons.

I hope this weevil is not RPW. Now i know i need to look all the time for more palms like this, in Tijuana and also the other parts of Baja California where i work.

All the members of palmtalk in our region need to do this also. We can help very much to stop this.

Palm people are great !

Edited December 3, 2010 by Cristóbal

[Ron Vanderhoff]

I have several updates for everyone following this issue.

The first is a message from Nick Nisson, OC entomologist. I recieved this message early this morning:

"The photos provided by Cristobal are remarkable. Thanks to your notifications and Cristobal’s efforts USDA is in communication with Mexican officials to investigate this Tijuana find site. I will also forward Cristobal’s contact information so that, hopefully, these specimens can be examined and the species determined. In regards to R. palmarum, this palm infesting species is reported from the state of Baja Sur (Garcia-Hernandez JL, Beltran-Morales LF, Loya-Ramirez JG, Morales-Cota JR, Troyo-Dieguez E, Beltran-Morales FA (2003) (First record of Rhynchophorus palmarum (Coleoptera: dryophthoridae) in Baja California Sur). Folia Entomologica Mexicana 42, 415-7.). This Tijuana find is extremely important, regardless of which species is involved and I want to thank all involved for the great effort to detect these weevils. I will keep you posted on all of the other suspect trees in our area that you have reported."

Ron

Thank you very much Ron, that you give to them my contact information.

When they go to see this palm in Tijuana they probaly find more weevils, but if no i have this weevil and the 2 cocoons.

I hope this weevil is not RPW. Now i know i need to look all the time for more palms like this, in Tijuana and also the other parts of Baja California where i work.

All the members of palmtalk in our region need to do this also. We can help very much to stop this.

Palm people are great !

Cristobal,

I just sent you a private message. Dr. Hoddle will be in touch with you shortly. He is very concerned about the Tijuana find and would like to examine the weevil. He also would like to do some DNA work on it and asks that you place any larvae/pupae/adults in your freezer in the meantime - which helps to preserve the DNA.

We're all thankful to you Cristobal. Yes, palm people are great - especially you!

Ron

[PALM MOD]

Ron,

Please check for a PM I sent you. One of your "PMs" to Cristobal was bounced back to me, and did not get to him. Please read the "IMPORTANT" topic at the top of the "Discussion Palm Trees" Forum concerning PMs. Many of you continue to miss the "DO NOT REPLY DIRECTLY TO THIS EMAIL" when you get an email notification of a PM. Please Read This

[WestCoastGal]

While doing a little reading online tonight I came across news dated 12/3/10 from India that scientists there have developed a bio-pesticide from tapioca leaves that is said to be effective against borer pest like RPW in coconuts and pseudo stem weevils in bananas. Here's the link to The Hindu article.

BTW I found the above article linked to on the site Red Palm Weevil: European Information and Resource Locator. The site states that a survey in Spain found that some 80% of the RPW infected trees were male trees. Curious if this is indeed true as reported and wonder if this statistic is similar to infestations of RPW in other parts of the world?

[Cristóbal]

Ron,

Please check for a PM I sent you. One of your "PMs" to Cristobal was bounced back to me, and did not get to him. Please read the "IMPORTANT" topic at the top of the "Discussion Palm Trees" Forum concerning PMs. Many of you continue to miss the "DO NOT REPLY DIRECTLY TO THIS EMAIL" when you get an email notification of a PM. Please Read This

I now have this PM of Ron and i answer, the weevil, cocoons now i put in the freezer for analises of DNA.

Edited December 4, 2010 by Cristóbal

[Ron Vanderhoff]

Maps showing the locations of the three positive finds so far for Red Palm Weevil in Laguna Beach, California. All three palms are within 1000 feet of each other.

Ron

[BS Man about Palms]

Ron- great location ID's. Has anyone hoofed it up those canyons to look for any wild growing ones?

[mlovecan]

Maps showing the locations of the three positive finds so far for Red Palm Weevil in Laguna Beach, California. All three palms are within 1000 feet of each other.

Ron

They simply won't fly very far if there is a ready supply of CIDP's around.

1. At this time, the infestation appears to be confined to a relatively small area of LB and does not yet seem to be rapidly spreading. That it is apparently confined to LB is good when one considers that the relative isolation of LB, surrounded by several miles of relatively palm-free wilderness in all directions, would tend to hamper its natural spread.

This is the most fortunate part of your infestation. Ours was identical but we sadly missed the opportunity.

However, movement of infested palms is still a grave concern.

You guys have made great headway - especially considering none of your government workers have seen RPW before and you guys found the third one at such an early stage.

However, the million dollar question is what was the original source? Somebody brought a palm in from somewhere that was infected. Those 3 CIDP's are obviously not recent arrivals. Without knowing the source ( may have been a CA nursery beyond the wilderness area ), the real battle has not started.

Regards

Maurice

[Tom S]

Ron- great location ID's. Has anyone hoofed it up those canyons to look for any wild growing ones?

I have hiked the canyons extensively and they are devoid of palms, except for a few washingtonias near the developed area. It's a beautiful hike, if your up this way Bill I would highly recommended it.

Tom

[Tomas]

Ron,

is there any diagnosis about the palms you photographed in San Clemente?

They simply won't fly very far if there is a ready supply of CIDP's around.

Maurice,

unfortunately I cannot agree, threre is some evidence that RPW can infest isolated palms even in the area where there are other healthy plants still left.

Tomas