The Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture (HDOA) established a new interim rule to help stop the movement of the coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB) from designated CRB-infested areas to non-infested areas in the state.
The new interim rule restricts the movement of palm plants; decomposing plant material, such as compost, wood or tree chips; mulch; potting soil; and other landscaping products that may harbor CRB, from infested areas to non-infested areas. In addition, the rule restricts the movement of palm plants higher than four feet in height, which will enable closer inspection of palm crowns where CRB are most likely to bore into a tree. The rule also designates the island of O‘ahu as a CRB-infested area and is subsequent to other interim rules that were issued in June 2022 and October 2023.
The interim rule was signed by HDOA Chairperson Sharon Hurd and is effective immediately and is valid for one year, while HDOA finalizes a permanent rule which is slated to be considered by the Hawai‘i Board of Agriculture later this month.
Any individual, company, or organization that violates the rule will be charged with a misdemeanor and fined not less than $100 and up to $10,000. Penalties for a second offense committed within five years will require the violator to pay for the cost of clean-up and decontamination fees to remove contaminated materials, as well as the cost to fully eradicate any CRB infestations caused by the violation. Repeat violators will be fined not less than $500 and up to $25,000.
HDOA’s Plant Quarantine Branch inspectors at all island ports are concentrating efforts on inspections of potential CRB host material transported between islands.
The CRB is a large scarab beetle that was first detected on O‘ahu in 2013. The beetle has since been detected in many neighborhoods on O‘ahu, In May 2023, CRB was detected on Kaua‘i and collaborative eradication efforts continue on the island. On Hawai‘i Island, CRB was detected in a palm tree stump Waikoloa in October 2023 and a single CRB was found dead in a trap last month in that same area. CRB grubs were found in Kīhei, Maui, in November 2023, but have not been detected on the island since.
It is still not known exactly how the beetles arrived in Hawai‘i.
Photo credit: Department of Agriculture