Red Palm Weevil in Spain

The devastation of the date palm in Spain is horrifying.  For those of us who have or rather had palms on our properties the slow death is so sad to witness. An upright palm one day and then you notice a dropping of the fronds and more and more they droop. The worst thing is, that by the time you notice the drooping its too late! Our tree was fine one day and then one frond dropped. We asked a professional gardener to have a look and he treated it with some rather vicious chemicals but a month later we lost the whole tree really fast. We could actually hear the grubs munching their way through the centre of our palm.

The pest was first recorded in the northern United Arab Emirates in 1985, and since then it has spread to almost the entire U.A.E. (El-Ezaby 1998) and to Oman. In Iran, it was recorded in Savaran region in 1990 (Faghih 1996). Then it was discovered in Egypt at the end of November 1992 in El-Hussinia, Sharquiya region (Cox 1993). In 1994, it had been captured in the south of Spain (Barranco et al. 1996) and in 1999 had been found in Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority Territories (Kehat 1999).

The cause of the high rate of spread of this pest is human intervention, by transporting infested young or adult date palm trees and offshoots from contaminated to uninfected areas.  Here in the Costa del Sol area the cause was most likely cheap palms from Morocco already infected and now its too late.

Rhynchophorus ferrugineus or red palm weevil belongs to the family of Curculionidae or Coleoptera. This beetle is between 2-5 cm long, and has a rusty red colour. The life cycle of the insect is about four months. Equipped with strong wings they are able to undertake long flights. Females lay about 300 eggs in separate holes. The eggs hatch in 2-5 days into legless grubs which bore into the interior of the palm and feed on the soft tissue of the tree. Damage to palms is produced mainly by the larvae. They reach a size of more than 5 cm before pupation and then move towards the interior of the palm making tunnels and large cavities. Usually the damage caused by the larvae only becomes visible long after infection. By the time the first symptoms of the attack appear they are so serious that they generally result in the death of the tree.

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Processionary Caterpillars

Processionaries 

Okay - its that time of year again - the Processionary Caterpillar invasion.  Having said that, due to the deluge of rain we experienced last year, many "nests" seem to have been washed away and perhaps because of that - I have not seen a "nest" so far this winter!! GOOD!


For those not familiar with these caterpillars, they are known as processionary caterpillars due to the fact that when they leave their nests in the pine trees, they form a long line nose to tail and joined by a fine thread.


Pine Processionary Caterpillars build a white nest, often described as 'candyfloss-like', on the tip of pine branches in the autumn.  By January they start to emerge and form lengthy processions and this is when they can be hazardous.  Each caterpillar has around 60,000 white hairs containing a toxin which can cause sever rashes, temporary blindness and evn respiratory problems.  


The problems are hugely exacerbated in animals, particularly dogs who can suffer a severe allergic reaction or anaphylactic shock which can result in death as their throat and nasal passages swell causing asphyxiation. 

"Nest" in pine tree!

I suffered very briefly and mildly one windy day when Derek drove out of our drive unknowingly driving over a whole procession.  When challenged the caterpillars releases their toxic hairs and these were caught up in the wind - virtually invisible.  It was only later that morning that a constant stinging and itching on my neck caused me to look in the mirror and all down one side of my neck was red and swollen with small white stripes.  Not very attractive and certainly not very comfortable.  Fortunately it didn't last long so I must have only caught a very few.


Although the general advice is not to walk in the pine forests, not to let your dog off the lead in such areas and to keep a sharp lookout, I have found that lone pine trees can harbour plenty - as was seen in the incident above.  Just keep a sharp eye - if you see fluffy white 'candyfloss' in pine trees now then avoid them for the next two or three months!

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Spain Bans Smoking in Public Places ....... again!

From yesterday - 2nd January new and tougher Spanish anti-smoking law means bars and restaurants are no-smoking zones.

In 2006 the first anti-smoking laws came in which prohibited smoking in public places.  When we first came to Spain everyone smoked, everywhere!! You would go into the bank and the teller would have not only a cigarette in the ashtray beside them but that ashtray would be full of cigarette butts.  All public buildings smelt of smoke and it felt really strange after it had been outlawed for so long in the UK.  

While the 2006 anti-smoking law prohibited smoking in the workplace, it came under fire for letting bar and restaurant owners choose whether or not to allow smoking: most permitted it.  There was even a great deal of confusion amongst the bar owners themselves.  Some said it had to do whether or not you served food or allowed children in the bar.  Others said it was to do with how many square metres the bar was.  All in all the confusion settled after about 6 weeks and it seemed that most bars and cafes did allow it.  Restaurants were stricter but it still seemed that it was "business as usual" for the smokers.

2011 and not only are the bars and cafes now smoke free zones but the idea of smoking can not be encouraged.  Smokers will not be allowed to light up on television broadcasts, near hospitals or in school playgrounds.

The bill, proposed by PM Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and his governing Socialist Party, was passed in the lower house by 189 votes to 154.

Bar and cafe owners fear the law will adversely affect business adding to the drop of 15% in sales since the recession.  

Spain was once famed for its smoke-filled bars, corner cafes and restaurants, but the new law tightens restrictions introduced in 2006 by forbidding smoking in any enclosed public space.    

The vote rejected a Senate amendment to allow casinos to have smoking areas. Moves to allow bars to build sealed cubicles for smokers also failed.

But doctors argue the new legislation will help smokers give up, which correspondents say is vital when 160 Spaniards a day die from smoking-related illnesses, four of them from passive smoking.

Spanish Health Minister Leire Pajin has called on Spaniards to share responsibility for the new law's success.

Personally, I am not sure how much the little village bars and cafes will adhere to the new law although I did hear today that bar owners would be subject to a €3,000 fine if caught by the police allowing customers to smoke.