The Government of the Azores published in the Official Journal on Thursday, legislation containing “measures to prevent the introduction and spread” in the archipelago of two insect species highly dangerous for several palm species.

The insect species in question are Paysandisia archon (Burmeister, 1880), an insect from South America, and Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier, 1790), which is commonly known as sago palm weevil, a beetle native to tropical areas of Asia and Oceania.

The first of these insects is considered “very harmful to many species of palm trees, causing their death after two to four years after the attack,” and the second, also “quite harmful to many palm species, can also cause death of these plants “in cases of severe infestation.”

The legislation now published requires the respective phytosanitary inspection for the introduction “of one or more specimens of any of the susceptible species from outside the Region by air, sea or mail in the form of cargo or personal luggage.”

The two ordinances issues by the Regional Secretariat for Agriculture and Forestry also define which species are considered susceptible plants, therefore the aforementioned species will be necessarily subject to phytosanitary inspection when entering the Azores.

The Government justifies the adoption of these measures given the need to preserve “the richness and diversity of palm species found in the Azores, whether in public and private places or in important historical gardens.”

Furthermore, the Government also reminds the “secularity of some of the existing specimens” on the islands, which are, therefore, “part of the living, landscape and historical heritage of the Region that must be preserved.”