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.

Solution 2011.mp4

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.  

Three Kings and Christmas in Spain

Its one of the things about Spain that I really like.  There is no real build up for the festive period as there would be from as early as August in the UK.  The early part of December is taken up with other festivities (CONSTITUTION DAY December 6th  National holiday throughout Spain in commemoration of the 6th December 1978 when the Spanish people voted in a national referendum to approve the draft constitution, thus providing the way forward for the creation of a democratic system in Spain) and (IMMACULATE CONCEPTION December 8th  On the Roman Catholic Church calendar of holy days, today is celebrated as a holy day of obligation, commemorating the Immaculate Conception of Mary.)


So we reach the 25th December in quite a peaceful frame of mind.  The shops are full of goodies but the frenzy is short lived.  Of course the other thing to remember is that the Spanish don't really celebrate 25th December in the same way we do.  For them its a holiday but not a present giving day - although the savvy have managed to include it into their celebratory calendar.  For the Spanish children there might be a small gift on  Christmas Eve (Nochebuena) but the main day for giving presents is 6th January - Epiphany which is when the 3 Kings came bearing gifts.  Doesn't that make much more sense? 


But then why is the birth of Christ considered to be on the 25th December when no date for his birth was ever recorded?  A strong theory suggests that this date was eventually chosen by the church because it aligned closely with a major pagan festival, dies natalis solis invicti (birth of the invincible sun god), therefore allowing the church to claim a new celebration for Christianity.


So in Spain the day for giving presents is 6th January DAY OF THE THREE KINGS  (Los Reyes Magos) twelve days after Christmas Day, with the coming of the Three Kings. Children place their socks outside for the Kings to deliver them presents, but only if they have been good. Naughty children have the fear of finding black coal in their socks instead of presents. On the eve of January 6th, it is tradition for three men to dress as the Kings and ride around the town in a colourful procession, scattering sweets to all the children who eagerly follow.  We have been to this procession in Malaga city and its lovely.  However, its recommended that you dont wear anything on your feet that is not easily cleanable and dont walk back into your house wearing this footwear.  The sweets reach many willing hands but many miss and the resulting sweet, sticky crunch underfoot does not enhance your shoe soles and will certainly transfer itself to your house flooring - trust me I KNOW!!!


I do like the idea of Three Kings but its a bit weird having such a mega holiday in January!! In the UK most schools have gone back by the 6th January and here its party, party.  Funny thing though.  A few years ago we met some friends for dinner at Plaza Mayor - an entertainment centre (shopping, cinema, restaurants and bars) just outside Malaga on 6th January.  Expecting the place to be dead and in fact not entirely sure we were going to find somewhere to eat it was therefore a shock to see it absolutely packed with Spanish people - not eating, no - SHOPPING!!! The power of the Euro eh?


All in all - I definitely like Christmas here - its different and much less frenetic!

UK versus Spain

Well we have just done the annual pilgrimage to Blighty and now we are back to start our diet and catch up on sleep.  I am sure we all experience this.  Himself and I only go back to the UK once a year together and its usually pre-Christmas so that we can get everyone into the festive mood and then quietly disappear.

This year we were a bit concerned about the horror stories of weather and cold and snow etc but to be honest it was absolutely perfect.  Standing on the plane waiting to disembark at Exeter Airport I thought I was going to explode with heat - jumper, gilet, coat, scarf and that was just the top half of me!  Get me off here or I am going to spontaneously combust.  They obliged and I got to the bottom of the steps and wanted to go back.  Boy it was cold.  You cant prepare for it you see.  You know its cold because everyone told you so and you watched the weather forecast obsessively but you cant actually feel it until you feel it - if you get my drift!!

Anyway - the furnace like heat of my mother's house soon removed any last feelings of chill and a fabulous week commenced.  We were out every night to a different place for dinner - whether it be family or restaurant  all were yummy and not once were we offered the "low fat option" !!! Hence a quick pre-Christmas lettuce leaf diet for him and I.

On Saturday night we were taken to a special dinner by Derek's son and daughter-in-law to Little Barwick House in Somerset.  This was to celebrate a big birthday for Derek in October. The food was fantastic and I couldn't recommend it highly enough!  The food, staff, company and ambience were just fantastic. Roll on another big birthday!

The whole week was actually a bit of a revelation as one of the reasons we first thought about moving out of the UK was that everyone was so miserable - especially shop-keepers.  Now I think its the opposite.  All the shop assistants were smiling and helpful - particularly if you smiled at them too!  Whereas here I am not sure half the time if I can be bothered to wait whilst the cashiers in Mercadona finish their conversations with each other.  You tend to feel like you are inconveniencing the staff by wanting to pay for your goods!

Of course in the UK they are suddenly mindful of the fact that they do still have jobs and they need to safeguard them.  Here they have always been mindful of that but its not easy to sack anyone here and I don't think not smiling and/or engaging with the person you are serving comes under the list of sackable offences!

I have to heave a sigh of relief though that we left the UK before this latest onslaught of bad weather.  Our local airport in Devon was closed this morning and flights were severely disrupted.  I don't mind the snow if I don't have to do anything like travel.

Here we are going to get rain soon - according to the weather forecast - and I don't like Spain in the rain.  So its a toss up - rain in Spain which can't cope with it or snow in the UK which can't cope with it.  So would I rather live in Spain or UK - the jury is out on that one - ask me in the Spring!

Hmmmm! Well its a good advert for a work at home business anyway - there is always a silver lining!!