Bug FAQRed Palm Weevil
Rhynchophorus ferrugineus · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Dryophthoridae
Also called: Asian palm weevil, Sago palm weevil
Source: Wikipedia
Adult red palm weevils are 2 to 4 cm long and usually rusty red, though many colour forms exist. The larvae bore holes up to a metre long in the trunks of coconut, date and oil palms, eventually killing the trees.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
They are typically rusty red, but many colour variants have been described as separate species.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults measure between 2 and 4 cm (about 1 to 1½ inches) in length.
Source: Wikipedia
Is it a pest in the house?
Infestations cause yellowing and wilting of palms, often leading to the plant’s death.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They are a major pest of coconut, date and oil palm plantations. They are now well established in most of Portugal, especially the southern region.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae tunnel into palm trunks, creating holes up to a metre long. In Southeast Asian cuisine the larvae are eaten as a delicacy.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
The whole life cycle lasts about three to four months. Eggs hatch into white, legless larvae.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
The species originates from tropical Asia, including countries such as Bangladesh, India, China, Japan, Vietnam and others.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
A 2010 California report was a misidentification of the related species R. vulneratus, not this weevil.
Source: Wikipedia
More photos
Questions people ask
What trees do they damage?
The larvae bore into coconut, date and oil palms, eventually killing the trees.
Source: Wikipedia
Where are they originally from?
They come from tropical Asia, including Bangladesh, India, China, Japan, Vietnam and several other countries.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Dryophthoridae)
Rice WeevilSitophilus oryzaeCan damage your home
Wheat WeevilSitophilus granariusDamages trees, gardens or crops
Hunting BillbugSphenophorus venatus
Cocklebur WeevilRhodobaenus quinquepunctatus
South American Palm WeevilRhynchophorus palmarumDamages trees, gardens or crops
Ironweed CurculioRhodobaenus tredecimpunctatusSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhynchophorus_ferrugineus
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.