The coconut rhinoceros beetle has been able to cut palm populations in half on other Pacific islands.ĭOA Chair Sharon Hurd said previous efforts to control the horned beetle were underfunded and too little was known about them, leading to their unmitigated spread. That’s because a lot of mulch is produced on Kauai already, according to Mike Melzer of the University of Hawaii Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle Response team.įinding the answer to where the insect came from will hopefully come soon, as tissue samples from the bugs have been sent from Kauai to UH Manoa for testing. Green waste is a key means of transport for the beetle, which breeds in mulch and foliage, making its appearance on Kauai more puzzling. Part of that plan was making sure it doesn’t hitch a ride anywhere else. The beetle is now firmly established on Oahu and, earlier this year, specialists announced they had moved into damage control and would no longer be able to eradicate the insect from the island. That’s because the beetles bore into the hearts of palm trees, effectively killing them in place. Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle larvae multiply in sites such as green waste transfer stations, like Kauai’s, which have perfect breeding conditions. The Department of Agriculture’s detection on Kauai comes after years of warnings from invasive species experts and entomologists, who have warned that Hawaii’s landscape would be overturned if the horned beetle gained a foothold.
Two beetles were found on Kauai near Lihue Airport, one found alive at a green waste transfer station on May 31 and another found two days later, dead in a trap close by. Now it’s been found on Kauai.Ĭoconut rhinoceros beetles have been discovered on Kauai, marking the insect’s first confirmed detection outside Oahu since its arrival in Hawaii almost 10 years ago. The invasive insect has decimated the Pacific’s coconut palm populations.
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