Palm species potentially resistant to red palm weevil attacks in sites of eastern Sicily heavily infested

OBJECTIVES In Italy, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus was first detected in October 2004. In the following year, the Red Palm Weevil (RPW) spread to other regions. In Sicily, it was detected mainly on old Phoenix canariensis growing along the eastern coast. The E. U. with the 2007/365 CE decision and following, established emergency measures and listed 27 sensible species. Documents do not give any information about the level of susceptibility of the different species of palms. The present work focuses for Eastern Sicily on the composition of the palm trees destroyed in the period 2006-2012. Furthermore, a specific survey was carried out, in representative sites, comparing the palms' consistency between 2006 and today, to know the level of susceptibility to the pest of the Arecaceae species.