Ugh! It does sound like agave weevils. They can be a real nuisance now and then. Their favorite plant is a ready-to-bloom Agave americana but they'll also attack any agave getting ready to bloom, and even non-ready-to-bloom agaves that are soft and tasty (A. attenuata come to mind, lol). I've had them infest a variegated A. americana at my last garden. It was easy to see what was happening as one day the plant looked a little shrivelled and the next it was what I call a witch's hat: a the cone of new foliage standing upright but all of the mature leaves flat against the ground, LOL. The leafy top came off of the roots with a gentle tug and yup, there they were: agave weevil grubs, happily chewing away and a nasty brown mess (which did smell nice by the way, heh heh, as by then it's filled with fermented sugar). I just dug the whole plant out and discarded it after killing all the grubs I could find (birds love them but I smashed them all). I also discarded the pups of that plant since some folks think that vulnerability (especially when plants are not at blooming size) is inherited by clones/pups. If you have infested plants you want to save, I've read that diazanon is a good treatment and preventative, and I've read that good ol' Imidacloprid (the systemic insecticide in the Bayer Systemic Insecticides) will do the trick too. Usually people don't notice until it's too late to save the main plant, but you might try an insecticide if you have pups or a plant you want to save. I tend to just discard the whole mess and replace with a large growing aloe or something. I've had them attack an agave and kill it while ignoring one ten feet away, so it seems sort of random. I have twenty or so different types of agaves in my garden and other than the one attack a few years ago, that's all I've seen on AGAVES, though my beautiful, lovely Macha Mocha mangave (Agave x Manfreda) got a Case Of The Grubs this spring and was dead by the time I noticed it. Grrr, LOL. As mentioned, they do prefer the americana plus any of the soft-leaf types, so a lot of people will only plant hard-leaf non-americana types, like A. parryi, or A. stricta, or A. victoria-reginae etc, though nothing is probably totally safe. I have a lot of soft-leaf agaves (attenuata, vilmoriana, and others) that are probably very, very appealing to momma beetle. I know, I know, it's kind of disturbing isn't it?? Hopefully others will chime in with treatments or prevention, plus stories too. Good or bad, it's fun to hear what's going on (or what has) in everyone's garden. Let us know what you do and how it works out! Good luck, Grant

Aloe nobilis pups are gone. I still have lots of Agave victoriae-reginae though!

I have seen a yellow marginated Queen Vic on ebay, I got a small pup from a seller naned rick3321. He does have his own web site called Natures Curiosity Shop, link below. He specializes in variegated succulents and if anyone has this plant he would. Ive never seen an alba before though (so if you find one please let us know where). Here is a link that might be useful: Natures Curiosity Shop

@Crenda: Thank you, it does seem to like life in the desert. I'd guess the plant is 7-8 years old. I have a couple smaller examples about 3 years younger. Try Agave nickelsiae, a larger, more robust version that can add as many as 20 new leaves per year. Equally beautiful Agave. @Becky: Lovely example of A. 'Kissho Kan', rather than A. potatorum, a much larger, solitary plant. @Nicholas C.: Agave angustifolia marginata