In part 1 of the weevil dead (Dad, it’s a pun on the horror film The Evil Dead, OK?) we talked about a beetle that lays its eggs in a certain type of palm tree, causing it to wilt in the sun like a drunk spectator watching cricket at Lord’s.
We now have first-hand experience of them, including their Crème Anglaise-like innards. Back home, the unsettling ratcheting noise of stag beetles at dusk in summer resembles the weevil – although here it’s more of a buzz.
Here’s a photo: (i) excavating the base of the palm; (ii) preparing the poison; and (iii) inserting a long thing into a drilled hole to administer it. Also a 20-second film showing the plump larvae’s rippling bodies. Finish your supper before watching.
The tree is unlikely to survive but we’ll try our best to save it. In life, something must die.
[UPDATE: 4 days later. yep, it’s dead]
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You look great for your age…olive tree
© con jamón spain
con jamón spain 
Some friends of ours had this in one of their palms…I couldn’t believe it but you could actually stand by the palm and hear them munching!!!
Posted by Wendy Kate | May 16, 2014, 8:42 amAppetising posts from both of us today, I see 😉
Posted by ladyofthecakes | May 15, 2014, 9:05 pmBut was that thing in your post wiggling?! http://ladyofthecakes.wordpress.com/2014/05/15/i-spy-i-spy-with-my-little-eye/
Posted by con jamón spain | May 15, 2014, 9:12 pmThank God – NO! …it may have been winking, though.
Posted by ladyofthecakes | May 15, 2014, 9:18 pmSo–the creme Anglaise thing, Are you saying that stepping on one of these little guys is like stepping on a chocolate eclair?
Posted by Charlotte | May 15, 2014, 8:50 pmYes (after we covered it in chocolate, obviously). Maybe they’re a delicacy in the Far East?
Posted by con jamón spain | May 15, 2014, 9:15 pm