Kalihi lawmakers plan community meeting on invasive beetles

State and city lawmakers from the Kalihi-Kapalama area are scheduled to host a community meeting to address concerns over increasing statewide infestations of invasive coconut rhinoceros beetles on Tuesday.

The meeting starts at 6 p.m. at Kapalama Elementary School, 1601 N. School St., and will include a presentation by the Oahu Invasive Species Committee, followed by a question-and-answer session with lawmakers in attendance.

The meeting comes amid a growing number of reports about coconut rhinoceros beetles damaging coconut palms and other trees on Oahu’s North Shore, in Central Oahu, and in other leeward and windward areas.

The black beetles, which measure up to 2.5 inches in length and have a horn, bore into the crowns of palm trees to feed on their sap, damaging and killing them. They live and breed in compost and mulch.

“These pests hurt our economy, our agriculture, and – most importantly – our island’s fragile ecosystem,” City Councilmember Tyler Dos Santos-Tam said in a statement. “Unfortunately, it’s only getting worse. In the last year, the Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle has spread from Oahu to each of our other counties. If we’re going to change course, we have to be more diligent about this issue. That starts with spreading more awareness. Our communities need to know why these pests are a problem and how we can stop them.”

The first coconut rhinoceros beetle in Hawaii was detected in December 2013 near Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on Oahu. The beetles have since spread to many other parts of Oahu, as well as to Kauai, Maui, and Hawaii island.

Lawmakers attending the meeting include Santos-Tam, City Councilmember Radiant Cordero, state Sen. Donna Mercado Kim, and state Reps. Sonny Ganaden and May Mizuno.