![]() More recently, CRB-G has been recorded in the Russell Islands group, which is home to the largest coconut plantation in the Southern Hemisphere, South Malaita, and on Ulawa Island. Subsequently, CRB-G has spread along the north coast of Guadalcanal, to the nearby small island of Savo, the Ngella (Florida) grouping, and to North Malaita in perhaps the most serious outbreak beyond Guadalcanal. Symptoms of CRB-G attack were first reported in Honiara in January 2015. The CRB strain in Solomon Islands and elsewhere in the Pacific ( CRB-G) is resistant to the virus that was used to control a different strain of CRB in Fiji, Samoa and Tonga in the 1960s and 1970s (this strain, CRB-S, is also present in Western Solomon Islands). CRB also damages sago palm (important for housing), and the areca palm (the producer of betel nut, problematic from a health perspective, but also important for informal sector livelihoods in Solomon Islands). It also impacts oil palm, which is significant as the Guadalcanal Plains Palm Oil Company (GPPOL) employs around 1,500 people and contributes around 12% of national GDP. CRB is the most serious insect pest of coconuts, essential for food security and cash income, resulting in significant yield losses and tree mortality. Michelle Broder Van Dyke covers the Hawaiian Islands for Spectrum News Hawaii.A new invasive strain of the coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB), Oryctes rhinoceros, is present in Solomon Islands and is spreading rapidly. Kauai County has closed the Lihue green waste transfer station, where the two beetles were found, in order to allow for the area to be surveyed.Īnyone who finds coconut rhinoceros beetles should contact the CRB Response Team at 80 or email or the state’s toll-free Pest Hotline at 808-643-PEST (7378). “We need everyone’s eyes to look out for possible infestation sites and to report it.” “It’s critical that we catch any possible breeding areas immediately to try and stop the beetle’s spread on Kauai,” said Sharon Hurd, chairperson of the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, in a news release. Green waste is a major concern because coconut rhinoceros beetles breed on trees, compost, mulch, trimmings, fruit and vegetation scraps, and decaying stumps of palms. (Photo courtesy of Hawaii Department of Agriculture) Kauai residents have been asked to look for coconut rhinoceros beetles and larvae. ![]() Fumigation equipment has been sent by barge to Kauai and will be used if other beetles are found. Members of HDOA’s Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle Response Team on Oahu have been deployed to Kauai to assist the Kauai Invasive Species Committee in surveying for other beetles. However, they have not been found on the other Hawaiian Islands - until now. In other parts of the Pacific, such as the Republic of Palau, the invasive beetles have eradicated coconut trees on some islands. First discovered on Oahu in 2013, the beetles are now widespread on the island. The coconut rhinoceros beetle bores into the crowns of palm trees, often killing them. ![]() Anyone who finds coconut rhinoceros beetles should contact the CRB Response Team at 80 or email or the state’s toll-free Pest Hotline at 808-643-PEST (7378).Green waste is a major concern because coconut rhinoceros beetles breed on trees, compost, mulch, trimmings, fruit and vegetation scraps, and decaying stumps of palms. ![]() The two coconut rhinoceros beetles were found in traps near Lihue's green waste transfer station. ![]()
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