Rhynchophorus vulneratus

Rhynchophorus vulneratus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Family:	Curculionidae
Genus:	Rhynchophorus
Species:	R. vulneratus
Binomial name
Rhynchophorus vulneratus (Panzer, 1798)
Synonyms
Curculio vulneratus Panzer, 1798 Calandra schach Fabricius, 1801 Rhynchophorus pascha Boheman in Schönherr, 1845 Rhynchophorus ferrugineus v. tenuirostris Chevrolat, 1882 Rhynchophorus glabrirostris Schaufuss, 1885

The palm weevil Rhynchophorus vulneratus is one of two species of snout beetle known as the red palm weevil, Asian palm weevil, or Sago palm weevil. The adult beetles are relatively large, ranging between 2 and 4 centimetres (1 and 1+1⁄2 inches) long, and vary from a rusty red colour to almost entirely black; many colour variants exist and have led to considerable confusion with other species (e.g., Rhynchophorus ferrugineus). Weevil larvae of these species can excavate holes in the trunk of a palm tree up to 1 metre (3 feet 3 inches) long, thereby weakening and eventually killing the host plant. As a result, these weevils are considered major pests in palm plantations, including the coconut palm, date palm and oil palm.^[1]