Recent Trends in the Early Detection of the Invasive Red Palm Weevil, <em>Rhynchophorus ferrugineus</em> (Olivier)

Red palm weevil (RPW), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier), is one of the most invasive pest species that poses a serious threat to date palm and coconut palm cultivation as well as the ornamental Canary Island palm. RPW causes massive economic losses in the date palm production sector worldwide. The most important challenge of RPW detection in the early stages of an infestation is the presence of a few externally visible signs. Infested palm shows visible signs when the infestation is more advanced; in this case, the rescuing of infested palms is more complicated. Early detection is a useful tool to eradicate and control RPW successfully. Until now, the early detection techniques of RPW rely mainly on visual inspection and pheromone trapping. Several methods to detect RPW infestation have recently emerged. These include remote sensing, highly sensitive microphones, thermal sensors, drones, acoustic sensors, and sniffer dogs. The main objective of this chapter is to provide an overview of the modern methods for early detection of the RPW and discuss the most important RPW detection technologies that are field applicable