7 November 2020 | New Scientist | 27Red monster
Photographer Mofeed Abu Shalwa/
Luminar Bug Photography
Awards 2020
THIS spectacular but terrifying
close-up of a red palm weevil
exposes every detail of the
insect’s rusty-coloured exterior,
which is usually hard to spot
by eye.
Mofeed Abu Shalwa, who
took the image, says he began
photographing insects partly as
a way to overcome his childhood
fear of them. He spotted this
weevil (Rhynchophorus
ferrugineus) next to a date
palm tree in the forests of Qatif
in eastern Saudi Arabia. The
image won him Luminar Bug
Photographer of the Year 2020
in the inaugural Luminar Bug
Photography Awards.
At between 2 and 4 centimetres
long, red palm weevils are
relatively large insects. Originally
from South-East Asia, they have
spread to parts of Africa and
Europe, including the UK.
While the weevils pose no
direct threat to humans or
animals, how they act on
young palm trees makes them a
formidable pest. They have been
estimated to cost growers in the
Middle East millions every year
due to their destruction of date
palms cultivated for their fruit,
for example.
So far, 26 species of palm tree
are known to be targeted by the
red palm weevil, whose larvae
bore holes up to a metre deep
into the trees after hatching,
weakening and sometimes killing
the plant. Insecticide and traps
keep some of the insects at bay,
but more sustainable and
comprehensive measures are
needed to fully control this pest.
The winners of the Luminar Bug
Photography Awards can be found
at photocrowd.com/bugs. ❚
Gege Li