KANEOHE, Hawaii (KHON2) — Coconut Rinoceros Beetles have been attacking Hawaii’s palm trees since 2013, but residents took action on Saturday, Sept. 7.
Kinai ‘Eha organized the first-of-its kind CRB hunting tournament in Kaneohe and the results might make your skin crawl.
Luluku Farms is nestled within Hoomaluhia Botanical Gardens and is a bit of a hidden gem, but scores of residents turned out to turn its piles of green waste into hunting grounds for invasive beetles on Saturday.
“They’re turning it over, looking for larva, fully grown beetles, eggs and the like. Anything that we can do to get in front of this and mitigate their further spread,” said Kinai ‘Eha organizer Emmit Kane.
Participants had 60 minutes to find as many CRB eggs, larvae or adult beetles as possible. Larvae were found the most and could have easily taken the prize for the creepiest-looking, but there were still several fully-grown CRB.
Farmers passed knowledge down to future generations and the Department of Agriculture hosted a booth for community outreach to provide advice that included tips for those with green waste.
“Try to keep it two-inch thin, kind of thing, just to help make it like less viable of a habitat. If you have any exposed mulch or even soil bags, try to keep it contained in a container just to limit exposure,” HDOA Plant Quarantine Branch acting entomologist Jarett Lau said.
Volunteers gathered over 900 specimen of CRB in just an hour and this will not be the last event of its kind.
“Oh, this is great,” Kane said. “This is more than we anticipated, we have more than 180 volunteers out here tackling and we’re looking forward to having more island-wide.”
“This is just absolutely amazing to see,” Lau said. “I love seeing the community participation out here.”
“To the extent there are other farmers that they would like us to come out and do the same, please contact Kinai ‘Eha,” Kane said.
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Lau said the collected creatures will be frozen on Saturday night and incinerated on Sunday, Sept. 8.