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The Potential of Red Palm Weevil Infesting and Destroying Oil Palm Industry in
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 The Planter, Kuala Lumpur, 90 (1058): 329-335 (2014)

The Potential of Red Palm Weevil Infesting and

Destroying Oil Palm Industry in Malaysia
IDRIS, A B1, MOKHTARUDDIN, H2, ZAZALI, C3, NURUL WAHIDA, O1, YAAKOP, S1
AND HAZMI, I R1

The red palm weevils (RPW) which have two distinct morphological forms namely the red stripe palm
weevil, Rhynchophorus vulneratus and the black spotted palm weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus, are
serious pests of palm trees worldwide. Although the taxonomic status of these two species still need to be
verified, the R. vulneratus seemed to be local while R. ferrugineus has been recently introduced to Malaysia
via the state of Terengganu, Malaysia. The latter has been reported to infest and cause severe damage to
the coconut industry in the state and the invasion seemed to be progressing rapidly from the coconut trees
along the coastal line (in 2007) to 17 km into the inland (by 2013). Interestingly, the result of our sex
pheromone trap shows that its population abundance was very high in the coconut growing areas (80-
90%) and moderately high (40%) in oil palm plantations as compared to R. vulneratus. The question is
what are they doing in the oil palm plantation? Do they feed on oil palm but have not yet damaged the
palms? To date there has been no report or record of dead oil palm tree due to R. ferrugineus infestation.
Our preliminary study on the mating behaviour of both virgin R. vulneratus and R. ferrugineus suggests
that the later was significantly more aggressive than the former. R. ferrugineus males took significantly less
time to start contacting female and spent less time for copulating compared to R. vulneratus. This behaviour
is normally closely related to high reproductive capability and population abundance. As the population
increases the competition for food (coconut tree) would be intense and some individuals would evolve to
avoid it and shift to less preferred but highly abundant host plants (in this case oil palm). Since the pest
seems to be able to multiply quickly there should be concern about its capability to infest and cause
economic damage to the oil palm industry. Otherwise the oil palm industry will suffer a similar fate as
cocoa whereby pest (cocoa pod borer) and disease are the major contributors of increasing production
cost. In terms of cocoa bean production in the world, in the 1980s Malaysia was ranked third but now it is
ranked fifteenth. The host shift occurrence from palm to palm is imminent as oil palm is somewhat similar
to dates palm and thus it is pertinent that action be taken immediately to curb the spreading of the pest. Oil
palm is one of the major contributors to the national revenue. Without interference, it is predicted that the
damage to oil palm may be clearly evident in 20-30 years’ time. As such, further study on various aspects
of ecology, biology and managing the pests must be initiated and control measures put in place without
delay. For a start, a nationwide sampling programme must be carried out using the pheromone traps to
monitor and where possible reduce the R. ferrugineus population abundance of red palm weevils. This
most probably will delay the host shift from occurring as competition is kept low.
1
Center for Insect Systematics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia,
43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
2
Department of Agriculture, Jalan Gallagher, 50632 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
3
Department of Agriculture, Tingkat 5, Wisma Negeri, 20632 Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia
Editor’s note:
The Planter in an editorial in 2013 entitled “Threats to the Oil Palm Industry” (Vol.. 89, No. 1043, p. 93) had drawn
attention to the potential threat of the Red Palm Weevil and published a technical article in the same issue. It is hoped
that some firm action is in place, instituted by the relevant authorities and control measures put in place without delay.

329
The potential of red palm weevil infesting and destroying oil palm industry in Malaysia

Keywords: Red palm weevil, Rhynchophorus, invasive, Terengganu, coconut, oil palm.

The red palm weevil (RPW) is a phytophagus
insect which specifically feeds on palmae. In
Malaysia, studies indicate red palm weevil as
a pest of palm trees especially the economically
important coconut, Cocos nucifera, and the
sago, Metroxylon sagu (Sivapragasam et al.,
1990). This weevil apparently has two distinct
species, viz., the red stripe palm weevil,
Rhynchophorus vulneratus (Panzer, 1798)
(Figure 1 a) and the black spotted palm weevil,
Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier, 1790)
(Rugman-Jones et al., 2013) (Figure 1b).
However, the taxonomic classification of both
species is still unconfirmed and is the most
popular debate among the taxonomists (Hallett
et al., 2003; Rugman-Jones et al., 2013). The
R. vulneratus is endemic to Sundaland (Malay
Peninsula, Borneo and Java up to Sulawesi)
while R. ferrugineus is native of India, and
South East Asian countries excluding Malaysia
(Rugman-Jones et al., 2013). Ironically, the
R. ferrugineus has been the invasive one,
spreading from its native habitat of South East
Asia and India to the Middle East, Europe, USA
and South America (Wattanapongsiri, 1966;
Zhang et al., 2008; Hernandez-Marante, 2003;
Rugman-Jones et al., 2013). Damage to the
palm by these two red palm weevil species is
due to the grub, usually found in a mass, feeding
within the crown region of the palm resulting
eventually in the collapse of the crown
(Wahizatul et al., 2013).

(A) (B)

Figure 1 Two distinct species of the red palm weevils, viz. a) the stripe red
palm weevil (Rhynchophorus vulneratus) and b) the invasive
spotted red palm weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus)

330

PRESENCE IN
PENINSULAR MALAYSIA
The R. vulneratus had never been documented
as a lethal coconut pest in Malaysia, though it
is an important pest of coconut in the
neighbouring countries (Murphy & Briscoe,
1999). This is probably due to its endemic
nature to Malaysia. In contrast, the
R. ferrugineus has been recently reported to
be present in northern east coast states of
Peninsula Malaysia, viz., Kelantan and
Terengganu probably since 2005, as the
first damage symptom was reported in
2007 (Wahizatul et al., 2013). According
to Rugman-Jones et al. (2013), the
R. ferrugineus is present in Thailand and it is
not surprising that report of its attack has been
reported in Kelantan and Terengganu. The
question that arises is about the presence in
the other northern states of Peninsula Malaysia.
The absence of such infection in the other
northern states indicates the invasion is most
probably not from Thailand. Another possible
source of invasion has been based on
hypothesis that the R. ferrugineus unwittingly
followed the imported dates trees for
ornamental and landscapes purposes from the
Middle Eastern countries (Zazali, 2013, pers.
comm.). This hypothesis could be true as the
invasion and infestation on coconut trees started
from the coastal area inward.
MONITORING
In monitoring the red palm weevil infestation,
the Department of Agriculture (DOA) had used
two types of commercially available pheromone
traps, viz., RPWlure and Ferrolure from India
and Costa Rica (ChemTica International Co.,
Costa Rica), respectively, for five-year periods
(2007-2012). Pheromone traps were prepared
The Planter, Vol. 90, No. 1058, May 2014
and set up somewhat similar to that as done by
Sivapragasam et al. (2009) but sugarcane,
pineapple or banana cuts were used to enhance
early attraction of both synthetics pheromones
to the weevils. Traps were randomly placed in
each district of the Terengganu state with more
traps placed in districts having high density of
coconut trees. Traps were also set up in the oil
palm plantations of the Federal Land Develop-
ment Authority (FELDA), Federal Land
Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority
(FELCRA) and TDM. What was surprising
was that about 80 per cent and 96 per cent of
red palm weevils collected in RPWlure and
Ferrolure, respectively, was R. ferrugineus.
It was also found that in five years time the
infestation of R. ferrugineus which was first
detected on coconut trees along the coastal
line had expanded its distribution from the coast
to about 17 km into the inland. Interestingly,
the R. ferrugineus was also abundant in oil
palm plantation ecosystem as indicated by
40 per cent of the total red palm weevils
collected from nine oil palm plantations in
Terengganu was R. ferrugineus (Table 1).
They were collected even in the trap placed in
the centre of oil palm field. However, there
has been no report on individual oil palm trees
showing symptom of red palm weevil attack in
Malaysia and the authors are not aware of
reports elsewhere. The question is what made
them to be present in the oil palm area? Will
they become one of the dominant pests of oil
palm in future? Are there other alternate hosts
in the oil palm field or do they fly long enough
in response to the sex pheromone offered?
They could have flown long enough in search
of food and landed when they encountered the
pheromone plume emitted from the traps as
reported by Fiaboe et al. (2012) where in the
coastal area of California and Southern Florida,
USA, the R. ferrugineus could fly up to 7 km
331
The potential of red palm weevil infesting and destroying oil palm industry in Malaysia

TABLE 1
R. VULNERATUS AND R. FERRUGINEUS SAMPLED FROM OIL PALM
PLANTATION OF FELDA, FELCRAAND TDM, TERENGGANU, MALAYSIA

No. of palm weevils in pheromone traps

Plantation
site R. vulneratus R. ferrugineus
FELDA Tenang 8 5
FELDA Krual/Sg Sayap 2 2
FELCRA Sg. Kerian 9 14
FELDA Setiu 1 6 10
TDM Sg Tiang 12 9
FELDA Jerangau/J. Barat 46 32
FELDA Bkt Banding 8 5
FELDA Tersat 3 1
FELDA Menkawang 28 3
Total 122 81
As % grand total 60% 40%

in three to five days in search of a host.
RESULTS
Result of the preliminary study on the mating
behaviour of six pairs of both virgin
R. vulneratus and R. ferrugineus suggests
that the later was significantly more aggressive
than the former (Table 2). This is due to the
fact that R. ferrugineus males took
significantly less time to get in contact (T =
4.59 df = 5, P < 0.05) with females for
copulation (T = 2.51, df = 5, P < 0.05) as
compared to R. vulneratus males. Time spent
for mounting between the two red palm weevils
males was not significantly different (T = 0.65,
df =. 5 P > 0.05). As such, it is not surprising
that though R. ferrugineus was just introduced
into the state, their population abundance
was higher than that of R. vulneratus as

TABLE 2
MEAN TIME TAKEN OR SPENT (MINUTES) BY THE R. VULNERATUS AND
R. FERRUGINEUS MALES IN MATING EXPERIMENT

Time for contact and mate by male with female (min)

Behaviour R. vulneratus R. ferrugineus
From released in arena to 11.25 + 4.55a 1.85 + 0.75b
make contact with the female
Mounting 0.62 + 0.25a 0.57 + 0.25a
Copulation 5.97 + 2.22a 2.44 + 0.78b
Means with similar letter row are not significantly different. Paired T-test, P = 0.05

332

mentioned above. It was also observed that
R. ferrugineus mate more frequently
compared to R. vulneratus per given time.
Although feeding behaviour and fecundity
studies on both red palm weevils have not yet
been conducted, preliminary observation
suggests that R. ferrugineus feed and spend
more time in feeding than the R. vulneratus
did. These two characters are common for the
invasive species (Keller et al., 2011) that allow
them to quickly multiply their population and
do heavy infestation (Shobana et al., 2010).
Additionally, the invasive species like
R. ferrugineus have high survival rate due to
no or lack of natural enemies to regulate its
population (Kidd & Jervis, 1996).
Potential threat
As mentioned by Keller et al. (2011), an
invasive species like R. ferrugineus could
actually cause serious damage to new hosts
adapted by them. The R. ferrugineus has been
infesting coconut tree and interestingly
attacking more of the aromatic dwarf variety
or ‘kelapa pandan’ than the Malayan Tall,
MAWA or MATAG (Wahizatul et al., 2013),
indicating host plant preferences. Although
there has been no report on dead oil palm trees
caused by red palm weevils in both oil palm
plantations and smallholdings in Malaysia and
probably in other oil palm producing countries
up to now, it will not be surprising that the host
shift from the common preferred host (coconut)
to most abundant palmae, the oil palm, might
occur through time. After all the R. ferrugineus
is already within the oil palm plantations
(Table 1) and adaptation to a new previously
least preferred host is possible. An example is
the host shift from the ancestral and novel host
plants by two Papilio machaon swallowtails
(P.m. aliaska and P. oregonius) (Murphy,
The Planter, Vol. 90, No. 1058, May 2014
2014; Murphy & Feeny, 2006; Murphy, 2004).
They found that the chemical (stimulants)
similarities between the ancestral and novel host
plants facilitated the host shift by swallowtails
within the P. machaon group. Host plant shift
could start when the invasive insect changes
its oviposition preferences as affected by host
density such as in the beet armyworm,
Spodoptera exigua (Lepidoptera: Nuctuidae)
(Greenbeeg et al., 2002) and aphelinid
parasitoids (Yang et al., 2012). The time
needed for host shift normally depend on
selection pressure and enemy-free space
availability as what happened to the
P. macahaon group (Murphy, 2014). For
R. ferrugineus, as an introduced species with
invasive behaviour such as actively mating and
probably feeding supported by ample enemy
free-space, the occurrence of shifting host plant
from coconut to other palms such as abundant
oil palm is unavoidable. Once it happens the
outbreak will certainly occur as the oil palm is
highly abundant. By that time it will probably
be too late or very difficult to control (El-Ezaby,
1997). What will happen to Malaysia if over
5.0 million hectares of oil palm contributing
RM70 billion (Norman, 2014 , pers. comm.) to
the country’s income in 2013 is affected by
R. ferrugineus? It would definitely adversely
affect the economy of our country. For
example, the cocoa industry was at third place
in the world in the 1980s in terms of cocoa
bean production but it was at fifteenth place in
2012 with only 18 300 tonnes per year
(U.N.FAO, 2012). The cocoa pod borer,
Conopomorpha cramerella infestation was
one of the major contributors (Azhar, 2007)
beside dwindling world prices, labour cost and
loss due to pest and diseases as well as the
cost and urbanisation/industrialisation processes
that took place in Malaysia since the 1980s
(Abdel Hameed et al., 2013). The spread of
333
The potential of red palm weevil infesting and destroying oil palm industry in Malaysia
cocoa pod borer along with the decline in the
price of cocoa led to decreases in cocoa bean
production in Malaysia (ICO, 2014).
Urgent need for studies
Although various control methods such as
insecticides, bait, trapping and biological agents
have been used to control red palm weevils
infesting dates palm in the Middle East
especially in Saudi Arabia (Abraham et al.,
1975; Abuzuhairah et al., 1996; El-Ezaby,
1997), methods of controlling this insect
infesting oil palm in Malaysia have not been
studied. As such studies need to be conducted
to determine the potential of R. ferrugineus
shifting host from coconut to oil palm and
methods of preventing and controlling the
infestation must be conducted early. If the
population of R. ferrugineus feeding on
coconut is high then certainly competition for
food is high too and this is where the selective
pressure comes in and occurrence of host
shift is unavoidable for the survival of
R. ferrugineus species. It could happen if not
soon, in 20, 40 or 100 years from now. However,
as indicated above with the mating, feeding,
reproductive rate and high dispersal ability of
R. ferrugineus, we cannot wait for it to move
to alternative host, oil palm to take action. If it
does happen the whole oil palm plantations with
such infestations have to be burnt like what
the Israel government did when their dates
fields were severely infested by R. ferrugineus
(Hallet et al., 2003). Infestation of oil palm
plantations by R. ferrugineus could be delayed
by reducing the selective pressure such as
periodically trapping the weevil population using
area-wide pheromone trapping (Hoddle et al.,
2013) or planting more preferred coconut
varieties as trap crops. At the same time
research on all aspects of R. ferrugineus and
its control must be initiated.
334
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to thank Tuan Hj Zazali Chik,
the head of the Crop Protection Division for
the state of Terengganu and his staff in making
this possible. This research was partially funded
by the grant 06-01-02-0896 from the Ministry
of Sciences, Technology and Inovation
(MOSTI) and DPP-2013-067 from Research
University Grant, Universiti Kebangsaan
Malaysia, Bangi, Malaysia.
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