Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

The red palm weevil is a species of beetle. Its larvae can excavate holes up to a metre long in the trunk of palm trees.

California is under attack.

There is an alien species invading our borders. These devious creatures are small, crafty and have an insatiable appetite.

And they're coming after our ... palm trees. California has its first recorded discovery of a Red Palm Weevil. The weevil is known to devastate palm tree populations in Asia and Africa.

Reporter Sanden Totten talks with Professor Mark Hoddle, from the Department of Entomology at UC Riverside.