Abstract
This study investigated the genetic variation among thirteen geographic populations of the red palm weevil (RPW), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier), using the Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RAPD-PCR) technique. RAPD profiles exhibited bands between 200 to 1400 bp in length. Average genetic distances among populations ranged from 0.3 to 0.8. Genetic distances among the analyzed individuals ranged from 0.241 (between individuals from populations of Egypt & Turkey) to 1 (between individuals from populations of Japan & both Egypt, Spain & France). The Unweigthed Pair Group Method with Arithmetic (UPGMA) mean categorized the tested populations into twelve clusters. Based on results, it is suggested that there are two major routes of RPW invasion, the first is at the origin of all the populations found in Egypt and Mediterranean countries and second is at the origin of the populations found in the Arabic Peninsula, Iran and Pakistan.