The South American Palm Weevil has entered the US from Mexico to San Diego. Date Palms here in SD have been devastated; the Balboa Park region has been hit hard. The Weevil lays its eggs in the crown of the tree and the 2” larvae destroy the crown leaving a ring of brown fronds at the bottom after all the top fronds fall off; the tree then dies leaving a difficult job removing the massive trunks. They seem to especially like the mature trees in the 20-50 foot range; smaller trees are as yet unaffected. Balboa Park GC and Admiral Baker have lost the most so far. They have yet to reach Coronado which has at least 50 of these majestic trees. I read that the Weevil can fly 15 miles in a day so their reach seems unbounded. UC Riverside is exploring options but at present the recommended course of action is to cut down the tree and bury it. Hard to imagine So. Cal. without its iconic Canary Island Date Palms.