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Coconut rhinoceros beetles, like the one seen here on O\u02bbahu, were found at state facilities on Maui and Moloka\u02bbi over the past week. (Kevin Fujii\/Civil Beat\/2024)<\/p>\nThe beetle has become emblematic of the state\u2019s decades-long struggle to contain and mitigate the impacts of invasive species throughout the islands. <\/p>\n
State officials are surveying parts of Maui and Moloka\u02bbi for evidence of coconut rhinoceros beetles, and residents near detection sites are being asked to check palm trees for signs of damage after the highly invasive pest was discovered on both islands.<\/p>\n
The suspected detection Tuesday of a male beetle near Kaunakakai Harbor would mark the first time one has been found on Moloka\u02bbi. Based on photographs of the specimen, the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity says it is likely a coconut rhinoceros beetle, and it is being sent to its Plant Pest Control Branch on O\u02bbahu for official confirmation.<\/p>\n
Residents on Moloka\u02bbi petitioned the state Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity more than six months ago for better protections from the beetle, which led to the state\u2019s strictest regulations for importing certain products such as mulch.<\/p>\n
The appearance of a beetle near Kahului Airport on April 1 marks the first official sighting since November 2023 on Maui. <\/p>\n
Coconut rhinoceros beetles, like the one seen here on O\u02bbahu, were found at state facilities on Maui and Moloka\u02bbi over the past week. (Kevin Fujii\/Civil Beat\/2024)<\/p>\n
The Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity\u2019s Dean Matsukawa said in a statement Wednesday that a single dead adult coconut rhinoceros beetle was collected by the Maui Invasive Species Committee from a detection trap at Kahului Airport. <\/p>\n
He blamed the recent departure of a public information officer, whose final day was April 1, for the delay in notifying the public. He said they were awaiting sign-off from other partners and were organizing their response, \u201cso we weren\u2019t tripping each other like Keystone cops.\u201d<\/p>\n
The early April detection of a male beetle near Kaunakakai Harbor on Moloka\u02bbi spells the worst-case scenario for many Moloka\u02bbi residents who had been trying to keep the beetle off the island. <\/p>\n
More:\u00a0Battling A Voracious Beetle In The Invasive Species Capital Of The World<\/a><\/p>\n The beetle has become emblematic of the state\u2019s decades-long struggle to contain and mitigate the impacts of invasive species throughout the islands. The insect spread from O\u02bbahu in 2023<\/a>, after almost a decade of containment, helping spur record funding for biosecurity<\/a>. But even after the funding infusions, there remains widespread dissatisfaction with the agency\u2019s progress in hastening and strengthening the state\u2019s response to the pests, which have also been established on Kaua\u02bbi and Hawai\u02bbi island.<\/p>\n The beetle is notorious for its feeding and breeding habits. It prefers to consume the sap of palm species, especially coconuts, by boring into their hearts and killing them. They breed and multiply in compost and green waste and they are known to fly up to 2 miles daily. It has also been found to attack kalo, or taro, and banana, among other culturally important crops.<\/p>\n A rapid response is crucial to eradicating pests like the beetles. If it is not contained on Moloka\u02bbi, the voracious scarab beetle could decimate coconut palms, a culturally important plant and food source for residents. The same goes for Maui.<\/p>\n The state should be swift in its response, Wayne Tanaka of Hawai\u02bbi Sierra Club said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s one thing to try and eradicate five or 10 CRB that have slipped through the cracks but if they are in the hundreds,\u201d he said, \u201call hope to quash those colonies goes out the window.\u201d<\/p>\n The detection on Moloka\u02bbi and Maui is \u201cincredibly alarming\u201d for the entire state, Tanaka added.<\/p>\n Six months ago, the mere likelihood of the beetle\u2019s arrival on Moloka\u02bbi constituted an emergency, according to residents Kunani and Ipo Nihipali, who successfully petitioned the state biosecurity agency last year for special protections for the island. The board\u2019s interim rule banned the transport of certain agricultural products that could harbor the pest, such as compost.<\/p>\n Moloka\u02bbi Rep. Mahina Poepoe introduced House Bill 1929<\/a> this year to establish an advisory board for the island, made up of residents, to develop a dedicated biosecurity plan alongside state biosecurity staffers. The bill calls for the creation of a quarantine facility on the island, with dedicated staff, for secondary inspections of incoming goods. Poepoe did not respond to requests for an interview.<\/p>\n The bill is still alive this session, having cleared the Senate Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday.<\/p>\n On Maui, a single female beetle was discovered in one of the state\u2019s lantern-shaped pheromone traps next to the airport, on Old Haleakal\u0101 Road. It is an unlikely location for the beetle to be found, in an area filled with invasive trees and grasses and without many palm species.<\/p>\n No other CRB were detected in the other traps checked, according to the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity release. Personnel from the Maui Invasive Species Committee and the agriculture department are conducting surveys, the release said, and deploying additional detection traps.\u00a0Residents, businesses and landowners within a 2-mile radius of Kahului Airport were asked to check coconut palms and other large palms for possible signs of CRB feeding damage, the release said.<\/p>\n A similar response is playing out on Moloka\u02bbi. Residents, businesses and landowners in a 2-mile radius from Kaunakakai Harbor were asked to check coconut palms or other large palm species for possible signs of CRB feeding damage and to identify and report piles of green waste that could harbor CRB, a state release said. Residents are also encouraged to remain vigilant when purchasing or moving mulch, compost and soil products, as well as avoid purchasing bags with damaged packaging or holes.<\/p>\n Matsukawa told Civil Beat that the department is sending staff to Moloka\u02bbi to assist since there are no biosecurity staff based on the island.<\/p>\n Department staff levels have presented a problem in recent years, with agricultural leadership saying they\u2019re unable to attract talent. That is in spite of more than $20 million in extra funding for the department, appropriated in 2024, which lawmakers have threatened to pull<\/a> if the agency doesn\u2019t address staff vacancies and other grievances.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really hard while we\u2019re doing budgets to help them \u2026 I have really no faith in where we\u2019re going with biosecurity,\u201d Moloka\u02bbi Sen. Lynn DeCoite said. \u201cWe can\u2019t help them if they\u2019re not communicating.\u201d<\/p>\n Among other concerns, legislators said the agency is overly friendly with the agricultural groups<\/a> it regulates, such as the nursery industry, known for being a key spreader of pests.<\/p>\n![\"Coconut](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/250306-dc-Colonizing-CRB-3589-1024x683.jpg\")
Coconut rhinoceros beetle larvae are most often found in compost and green waste, making them adept at hitchhiking between islands in shipments for nurseries, gardening and big box stores. (David Croxford\/Civil Beat\/2025)<\/p>\n
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