CRB Updates: Molokaʻi, Maui, Lānaʻi, and Hawaiʻi Island
By Wayne Tanaka | Reading time: 4 min
This month we have a number of updates - including urgent calls to action - on the fight against the takeover of our islands by the highly invasive coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB).
First, some good news: after adult CRB were detected on Molokaʻi for the first time ever, extensive surveys conducted by the Molokaʻi Maui Invasive Species Committee, with assistance from the Big Island Invasive Species Committee and its CRB detection dog, Manu, revealed no active breeding sites - and no additional CRB have since been found.
Mahalo nunui to the hardworking frontline workers and all Molokaʻi residents who responded to the all-hands-on-deck call to action, to help detect any potential sources of CRB on their island.
Second, more good news: thanks to widespread community support, emergency interim rules to prevent the spread of CRB from an infested region in Kona were adopted by the Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity in March. Many thanks to the leadership of community organizations Pōhaku Pelemaka and the Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund, who petitioned the Board to adopt these rules, as well as the many cultural practitioners, farmers, and residents from throughout Hawaiʻi who came together in support of this effort.
Unfortunately, despite its Board’s adoption of these “emergency” rules, the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity still has not moved forward with their implementation. As of this publication, the Department has not issued any compliance agreements, required under the rules, that would ensure the adoption of best management practices by individual Kona area businesses before they can move or sell CRB host material.
Stay tuned for updates as the residents of Hawaiʻi Island must now focus on getting the Department to implement its own rules, before the CRB infestation in Kona spreads beyond the point of no return.
Finally, in an alarming development, adult CRB and larvae were discovered on Lānaʻi in May - the third on-island detection since 2025 - and multiple adult CRB were found on Maui in April and June. These detections clearly underscore the need for stronger protections against the continued introduction of CRB to these islands.
Thankfully, the Lahaina Community Land Trust has filed a petition with the Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity to prohibit the shipment of potted plants or untreated CRB host material to Maui and Lāna‘i. Their petition and its proposed rules are critical to heading off future CRB introductions that could lead to the permanent, widespread establishment of CRB on these islands.
This petition will be considered by the Board next Tuesday, June 23, at 9 a.m. Your testimony is critical to ensuring that the Board moves this petition forward with appropriate urgency. Please submit testimony in support as soon as possible - testimony instructions below.
Also, with potential CRB breeding site(s) now suspected in Central Maui, it is critical that Maui residents act to prevent spreading any CRB while any such sites are investigated and, if found, eradicated. If you live on Maui, please review and carry out the steps below - and ask your neighbors to do the same.
Please take a few moments to take the following actions, to help prevent generations’ worth of devastation from the ecological, cultural, agricultural, and economic impacts of CRB. Time is of the essence.
Submit testimony in SUPPORT of the emergency rule petition submitted by the Lahaina Community Land Trust, scheduled for the Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity’s consideration on Tuesday, June 23, at 9 a.m. (and testify verbally via Zzoom here if can). Sample testimony and testimony instructions below!
If you live on Maui,
DO NOT transport any untreated soil, mulch, compost, potted plants, or green waste.
Regularly turn over any mulch, compost or other host material you have on your property to check for larvae and eggs - especially if you or your neighbors may have recently acquired plants or host material from Central Maui.
Treat your home compost pile by heating it to at least 130º F.
Set up a detection trap. A limited supply of detection traps are also available from the Maui Invasive Species Council - contact them here or at crbmisc@hawaii.edu.
Keep any suspected CRB (adults or larvae) in a hard-lined container (they can chew through soft plastic) and report it to 643-PEST(7378) or 643pest.org.
Check palms for CRB feeding damage visible as V-shaped cuts in the leaves or bore holes in the frond and report it (with photos) to 643pest.org or 643-PEST (7378). Learn what to look for here.
Testimony Instructions
Written:
E-mail: DAB.BOARD.TESTIMONY@HAWAII.GOV
Subject line: “Testimony on Agenda Item IV.B.2” (sample testimony below)
Deadline: Sunday, June 21 if can (Monday may be considered “late” butlater is still okay).
Verbal:
In-person:
Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity Plant Quarantine Branch, 1849 Auiki Street, Honolulu, 96819-3100 at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, June 23.
Remotely:
Zoom link (https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87439855230) at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, June 23.
Sample Testimony
TO: DAB.BOARD.TESTIMONY@HAWAII.GOV
SUBJECT: Testimony on Agenda Item IV.B.2
Aloha Chair Hurd and Members of the Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity,
My name is [your name] and [your home] is my home. I strongly urge you to MOVE FORWARD with the emergency and interim rules proposed in the Lahaina Community Land Trust petition, and to direct Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity staff to ensure that these rules are brought to the Board for final approval by your next scheduled meeting.
The CRB situation in Maui County was already alarming enough, with the prior multiple detections of CRB on Lānaʻi and Maui over the past three months. The most recent discovery of several adult CRB in Waikapū has made clear that without agency intervention, Maui and Lāna‘i will continue to experience new CRB introductions that could quickly lead to devastating consequences.
This is an emergency situation. We must stop all potential pathways for additional CRB to make their way to Maui and Lānaʻi - especially now, as Maui frontline workers must focus their education, investigation, and eradication resources on a potential CRB infestation in Central Maui.
These rules are absolutely critical to preventing or mitigating CRB outbreaks on Maui and Lānaʻi before it is too late. Please direct Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity staff to move forward with these rules with the utmost urgency, and to ensure that they are brought back for final approval as soon as possible - and no later than your next regular meeting.
Mahalo nui for your prompt attention to this matter.
[your name]