Manilva’s Parks and Gardens Department, directed by Councillor Mario Jiménez, has been contacted by the company contracted by the Junta de Andalucia to fell and remove those palms affected by the Red Palm Beetle, and has requested that a register of affected trees be made so as to expedidite the removal operation in the shortest time possible.

All those residents with trees which are affected by the Red Palm Weevil should contact the department on 952 890 029.
Once registered the affected palm will be scheduled for removal by the department.
Cases of infection have already been recorded in the municipality of Manilva and a number of trees destroyed by this pest including trees in Jardín Tropical, La Colonia Infantil, Sabinillas (by the Church and Villa Matilde, as well as in other parts of Manilva.
Originating in Southeast Asia the Red Palm Beetle (Spanish: Picudo Rojo Rhynchophorus ferrugineus), appeared for the first time in Europe in 1994, in Almuñécar (Granada).
It is believed to have arrived in a consignment of infected palms imported from Egypt and other North African countries. Since then thousands of palms have been destroyed by this insect.
In Spain the Red Palm Beetle chiefly affects the Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera) and the Canary Date Palm (Phoenix canariensis). It can also affect other species such as the Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera) and Oil  Palm (Elais guineensis).
The beetle's larvae feed on the soft leaf tissue and terminal buds of the tree's growing point burrowing through to the palms centre and if left untreated inevitably kill the tree.
Eggs: The eggs are creamy white in color, long and oval in shape like a grain of rice. The average size of an egg is 2.6 mm long and 1.1 mm wide.
Larva: The full grown larva is conical in shape and is a legless fleshy grub. It appears yellowish brown, while the newly hatched larva is yellowish white in color, with a brown head.
The length of the full grown larva is 50 mm and the width is 20 mm.
The head is brown in color and bent downwards. Mouth parts are well developed and strongly chitinized, which enable the grub to burrow into the trunk. However, the grub requires a moist environment.
Pupa: When about to pupate, the larva constructs a cocoon of fibers from palm. The cocoon is oval in shape, with an average length of 60 mm and a width of 30 mm.
Adult: The adult weevil is a reddish brown cylinder with a long prominent curved snout. It varies considerably in size and is about 35 mm in length and 12 mm in width. The head and snout comprise about one third of the total length.
All stages (egg, larva, pupa and adult) are spent inside the palm itself and the life cycle cannot be completed elsewhere. The females deposit about 200 eggs at the base of young leaves or in injuries on the palm. Eggs hatch in 2 to 5 days into legless grubs which bore into the interior of the palms, moving by peristaltic muscular contractions of the body and feed on the soft succulent tissues, discarding all fibrous material. The larval period varies from 1 to 3 months. The grubs pupate in an elongate oval, cylindrical cocoons made out of fibrous strands. At the end of the pupation period which lasts 14 to 21 days, the adult weevils emerge. Thus the life cycle is about 4 months.
Damage to palms is produced mainly by the larvae. The grubs feed on the soft fibers and terminal bud tissues, except just before pupating, when they move towards the interior of the palm making tunnels and large cavities. They can be found in any place within the palm, even in the very base of the trunk where the roots emerge.
Usually the damage caused by the larvae is visible only long after infection, and by the time the first symptoms of the attack appear, they are so serious that they generally result in the death of the tree. Careful observation may reveal the following signs which are indicative of the presence of the pest (Coconut Research Institute, 1987): holes in the crown or trunk from which chewed-up fibres are ejected (this may be accompanied by the oozing of brown viscous liquid); crunching noise produced by the feeding grubs can be heard when the ear is placed to the trunk of the palm; withered bud/crown. This late detection of the presence of the weevil constitutes a serious problem in the fight against the pest and in any attempt to guarantee pest-free status in adult trees. Despite research carried out so far, no safe techniques for early detection of the pest have been devised.