The red palm weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus) was identified by the entomology unit of the plant health laboratory of the national agency for food, environmental and occupational health safety (ANSES) on samples taken in a private estate in Saint-Martin at a place called Les Terres-Basses in February 2023. At the end of 2023, a new area of contamination was detected in Orient Bay.
The red palm weevil (CRP) is a beetle that attacks exclusively palm trees, causing them to wither and die after significant internal damage. The first symptoms of attack (fall of the palm leaves) appear late after the infestation of the palm tree which dies after 2 to 5 years. It is one of the most important pests of palm trees in the world. It attacks around forty species (date palm, coconut palm, oil palm, Canary Island palm, palm trees of the Washingtonia genus, etc.). First detected in the Persian Gulf region in the mid-1s, CRP has spread significantly westward over the past 1980 years and is today found in virtually every country in the Nearby region. -East and North Africa as well as Europe. It was first detected in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region in mainland France and is now installed in the Occitanie and Corsica regions. The CRP is also present in the Caribbean area in Aruba (30). The fight against CRP is obligatory according to the ministerial decree of June 2013, 25. The prefectural decree of December 2019, 21 defines the entire territory of the Collectivity of Saint-Martin as a contaminated zone and therefore as a control perimeter. against the red palm weevil. Faced with the threat posed by CRP in the Caribbean basin, the biological surveillance teams of the territory of the DAAF (Food department) and FREDON Guadeloupe recognized as a health organization (OVS) in the field plant are intended to highlight the possible presence of other outbreaks and to precisely assess the degree of spread of the pest.
It is therefore important to remember the importance of facilitating access to private gardens for these agents, of declaring to the DAAF services any suspicion of symptoms suggestive of the presence of the weevil, either by telephone at 05.90.52.30.50 , or by email to the following address: salim.daaf971@agriculture.gouv.fr and finally, to implement, after declaration, the prescribed control measures, namely the destruction of the contaminated plant or its infested part, treatments preventive measures around infested palm trees in order to avoid any spread of the insect. These various measures will be implemented by people, companies or services officially recognized as capable of these operations by the DAAF. Contact details can be obtained by contacting the DAAF Territorial Unit in Saint Martin, either by telephone at 05.90.52.30.50, or by email at the following address: salim.daaf971@agriculture.gouv.fr
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