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Rhynchophorus ferrugineus, the red palm weevil is a species of beetle. It is relatively large, between two and five centimeters long, and a rusty red colour. Its larvae excavate holes up to a metre long in the trunk of palm trees, and can kill the host plant. As a result, the beetle is a pest of palm plantations of palms such as the coconut palm, date palm or oil palm.[2] Originally from tropical Asia, the red palm weevil has spread to Africa and Europe, reaching the Mediterranean in the 1980s, and was first recorded in Spain in 1994 and in France in 2006.
[edit] Used as a food source by humans
Palm weevil grubs are considered a delicacy by the local people of Huaorani, Ecuador. During the Man vs. Wild season 2 episode "Ecuador," survivalist Bear Grylls ate some of them. He did not like their taste, but did say that they were very high in protein. [3]
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