Studies of Palau in the 1950s showed that half of all palms on the island were killed within 10 years of introduction. ![]() Pictures of beetle-ravaged groves in Guam show barren trunks jutting 40 feet out of the ground like giant twigs. The beetles are native to Southeast Asia and have spread throughout the Pacific. When a beetle bumps into the trap, it falls into the cup and can’t escape. The nocturnal beetles are attracted to the trap by a pheromone lure and the glow of a small solar-powered LED light. The pair continued on their rounds, checking their maps to find the traps, which resemble 4-foot-long black lanterns with a white plastic cup at the bottom. “I’ll be at the beach and find myself staring at coconut trees all afternoon,” Potter said. It takes a practiced eye to spot early damage on an otherwise healthy tree, and the habit can be hard to break off duty. “But now a lot of the coconut trees are just completely torn up. “When we first started coming out here six months ago, none of the trees were damaged,” Potter said. Less than 100 yards away, Potter spotted two more trees just starting to show damage. Most of the affected trees in this community have been tagged and are continually monitored. The pair scanned the tree tops for leaves that have been snipped in an inverted V-shape - a sign of beetle damage. The former military housing community is filled with coconut trees. On a recent Friday, team leaders Chad Goldstein and Zachary Potter headed out on their daily rounds to Iroquois Point, just across the harbor from beetle ground zero at Pearl Harbor. So far, they’ve put up 2,700 beetle traps across Oahu and surveyed more than 100,000 trees. Field teams check trees, set up traps and monitor mulch piles for signs of beetle larvae. “If somebody is coming to buy a property in Hawaii, they will expect nice palm trees,” says Curtiss, an entomologist with the plant pest control branch of Hawaii’s Department of Agriculture.Ĭurtiss leads a group of about 40 people charged with eradicating the bug. The coconut tree is depicted in the ancient hula, and in some neighborhoods, every other house has a palm tree growing in the front yard. The urgency to address the problem is both cultural and financial. It’s going to take a long time, but it’s still possible,” said Rob Curtiss, incident commander for Hawaii’s coconut rhinoceros beetle eradication program, a joint operation of the U.S. “At this point, eradication is still possible. 23, 2014, was the anniversary of the beetle’s discovery on coconut palms at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam - state officials are cautiously optimistic. It’s going to take a long time, but it’s still possible.”- Rob Curtiss, incident commander for Hawaii’s coconut rhinoceros beetle eradication programĬoncerns that the thumb-sized pest, named for its curved horn, could hitch a ride to California or Florida and attack thriving palm oil and date industries there have prompted federal and state officials to declare the beetle’s discovery in Honolulu a pest emergency. Adult beetles burrow into the crowns of palm trees to feed on their sap, damaging developing leaves and eventually killing the trees. Much as the Asian long-horned beetle attacked maple and elm trees on the East Coast, the coconut rhinoceros beetle could devastate Hawaii’s palm trees and move on to bananas, papayas, sugar cane and other crops afterward. Their nemesis is the latest in a long line of invasive species to arrive here: the coconut rhinoceros beetle. That possibility has state officials worried because Hawaii’s iconic swaying palm trees are under attack. Visitors flock to the Hawaiian Islands for sun-soaked holidays filled with silky beaches, turquoise water, lush green hillsides - and naked palm trees missing their leafy crowns?. January 24, 2015, 8:56 PM | Reporting from HONOLULU In Hawaii, officials fear the beetle could move on from palm trees to bananas, papayas, sugar cane and other crops. ![]() ![]() The coconut rhinoceros beetle, named for its curved horn, feeds on the sap of palm trees, eventually killing them.
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