Coconut rhinoceros beetle discovered in Kurtistown on Hawaiʻi Island

The Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity is alerting the public after a live male coconut rhinoceros beetle was discovered in a trap in Kurtistown on Hawaiʻi Island, prompting officers to establish a one-mile search perimeter and deploy additional traps.

DAB has notified partner agencies. Biosecurity officers will set up the perimeter to search for any other CRB and possible breeding grounds. More traps will be put up in the area where the beetle was found.

CRB has been discovered across Hawaiʻi Island, with the first detection taking place in October 2023 in the Waikoloa area. The invasive species was first discovered in Hawaiʻi in late 2013.

CRB is a serious pest of palm trees, primarily coconut palms, as the adult beetles bore into the crowns of the palms to feed on the tree’s sap. New unopened fronds are damaged in this way and when fully opened, may break and fall unexpectedly. If CRB kill or damage the growing point of the palm, the tree may die. Secondary fungal or bacterial pathogens may also attack the wounds caused by CRB, thereby also killing the tree. CRB is a major pest of palms in Guam, India and the Philippines, as well as many other areas across the South Pacific.

Natural enemies of CRB include pigs, rats, ants and some beetles, which may attack CRB eggs, larvae, pupae and adults. They may also be killed by two diseases, a fungus and a virus; however, both are not known to occur in Hawaiʻi.

Residents are encouraged to go to the CRB Response website at:  https://www.crbhawaii.org/ to learn more about how to detect the signs of CRB damage, how to identify CRB life stages and how to report any suspected signs of damage or beetles/grubs via the CRB reporting feature. Possible CRB can also be reported on the PEST HOTLINE at 643-PEST (3787).