Serangga 19(1): 63-81 ISSN 1394-5130 © 2014, Centre for Insect Systematics, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia THE EFFICACY OF SYNTHETIC FOOD BAITS IN CAPTURING RED PALM WEEVIL, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (COLEOPTERA: CURCULIONIDAE) IN CAMPUS AREA OF UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA TERENGGANU Haris, M.H 1 ., Nang, M.L.S 1 ., Chuah, T.S 2 . and Wahizatul, A.A 1 . 1 School of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia. 2 School of Agrotechnology and Food Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia. Corresponding author: wahizatul@umt.edu.my ABSTRACT Red Palm Weevil (RPW), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus is known as one of the most destructive pest of major cultivated palm industries such as coconut palm (Cocos nucifera), date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) and oil palm (Elaeis guineensis). In early 2007, RPW was first recorded in some small coconut plantations in Setiu, Terengganu by Department of Agriculture (DOA). One of the current methods to control the RPW is the use of the pheromone traps instead of chemical pesticides. In this current study, a 60 days experiment of pheromone mass trapping using synthetic food baits was conducted around Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) campus to evaluate the effectiveness of