title: How Far Can the Red Palm Weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Fly?: Computerized Flight Mill Studies With Field-Captured Weevils.
abstract: Adult Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier) captured in pheromone-baited traps in commercial date palm orchards in the Al Ahsaa Directorate, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, were used in computerized flight mill studies to determine the flight characteristics of this highly invasive and destructive palm pest. Flight mill studies were run at three different time periods, winter (December), spring (March), and summer (May). Of the 192 weevils tethered to flight mills ∼30% failed to fly > 1 km. Of those weevils flying > 1 km (n = 139), 55% flew > 10 km, and of these flyers 5% flew > 50 km in 24 h. Flying weevils exhibited an average weight loss of 20-30% and nonflying control weevils lost ∼9-13% body weight in 24 h. Male and female weevils flying in summer (average laboratory temperature was ∼27°C) flew the longest average distances (∼25-35 km), exhibited highest weight reductions (∼30%), and greatest mortality rates (∼80%). Consequently, time of year not weevil sex or color morph had a consistent and significant effect on flight activity, weight loss, and survivorship rates. Flight activity was predominantly diurnal commencing around 5:00 a.m. and peaking between 9-11:00 a.m. before tapering off. The distribution of flight distances combined across season and sex was mesokurtic (i.e., normally distributed).
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521. Center for Invasive Species Research, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521. mark.hoddle@ucr.edu.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Hoddle
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521.
authors.forename: C D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Hoddle
authors.affiliation: Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, Date Palm Research Centre, Ministry of Agriculture, PO Box 43, Al-Hassa 31982, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Faleiro
authors.affiliation: Date Palm Research Center of Excellence, King Faisal University, P.O. Box 400, Al Ahsaa-31982, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: H A F
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: El-Shafie
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521.
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Jeske
authors.affiliation: Date Palm Research Center of Excellence, King Faisal University, P.O. Box 400, Al Ahsaa-31982, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Sallam
mesh_terms: D063147:Animal Distribution; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D005426:Flight, Animal; D008297:Male; D011897:Random Allocation; D048889:Weevils / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Saudi Arabia; color morph; dispersal; flight; kurtosis