quislet

Well, the girls and I are back from our long holiday at the Mecca of Mickey. I returned to find that something has been munching on my dear Thelonius (my new cocoa tree). There have been some really hard, white, weevil things munching on all the new growth leaves. They are so hard that I can't even crush them with my fingers. I've been searching the 'net and pestering my live-in biologist, and I think I've finally identified the wretched vermin. I apparently have the western-most infestation (in the world) of Myllocerus undatus Marshall, an Asian grey weevil native to Sri Lanka.

Handy link for entomologists goes here - http://www.doacs.state.fl.us/pi/enpp/ento/weevil-pest-alert.htm

Apparently, this Marshall weevil managed to sneak through customs to South Florida about 10 years ago, and has only been reported between Homestead and Boca Raton. My house is the furthest inland that he's ever come. I guess it was the promise of yummy cocoa leaves... This bug been eating up exotic tropical plants all over South Florida, and has a particular taste for ackee, longan, lychee, and mangrove.

I think I caught the last one this morning and I have him trapped in a jar in my kitchen, waiting for Zed to wake up and make a final confirmation. If he can confirm it, we have to send it in to Gainesville to update the state and federal infestation records. I certainly never imagined that my name would ever end up in entomological records...