Round Town: Local News Benidorm, Alfaz, Altea.

(Benidorm)  

Picudo Rojo is the name of a big red bug that is munching its way up the Mediterranean coastline, killing off a huge number of our palm trees as it goes.

 

First introduced by error in a consignment of palms imported from Egypt to Almuñécar in Andalucía in 1994, and afterwards in other consignments to Murcia and the Comunidad Valenciana, the insect which originated in Asia, and can reach a length of up to 5cm, has been responsible for the deaths of hundreds of our emblematic trees, and there is little sign that its advance has halted.

The insect feeds on the tender base of the palm leaves where they emerge from the trunk, and can make burrows of up to 1 metre long, sucking out the life blood of the tree, and looking for a spot to leave its eggs, which can number up to 500.

The eggs hatch into large maggot type larvae, which continue to feed on the palm, until they pupate then form into new adults.

They continue to feed on the same tree, until there is literally no life left in it. They then either walk or fly to their next victim, using a special “homing capability”, that means it can sniff out freshly pruned palms from up to 5km away! Most species of palm can be attacked to one degree or another.

The beautiful palm forest at Elche (the biggest in Europe) is at special risk, and this is where most of the research and trials into methods to “beat the bug” are being undertaken.

There have been some success using natural parasites that attack the insect, also a system has been developed which is like an intravenous drip, a plastic tube inserted in a drilled hole at the top of the trunk, into which a pesticide is fed in.

The treatments are expensive and labour intensive, which puts it out of reach of most individual home owners, whose trees are affected, they are often left with no option other than getting their trees cut down and removed for burning.

We have made enquiries as to where these intravenous kits can be obtained if people want to treat their trees; one local source is the farmers “cooperative” on the road between Altea and La Nucia, almost opposite the petrol station. The bug is known in Spanish as the “Picudo Rojo”.

You have Roundtown’s permission to “accidentally on purpose” stamp on any of these bugs you see mooching along looking for its next victim. Leave our palms alone!

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