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South American palm weevils, the button-size beetles, have breached the Southern California border, and they’re hungry.

That spells trouble for their favorite meal, the Canary Island date palms that have been one of the region’s most enduring symbols. The weevil larvae feast on a tree’s crown, crippling its growth and, within months, killing it.

“I think it will change Southern California’s landscape,” said Mark S. Hoddle, an entomologist at the University of California, Riverside, who has been studying the insects for about six years.

Traditionally found in South and Central America, the weevil is believed to have showed up in Tijuana, Mexico, at least six years ago after hitching a ride north of the border. There, its population exploded and percolated into southern San Diego County.