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HDOA updates board on coconut rhinoceros beetle finds near Kona Airport; islandwide response and bills under consideration
Summary
Hawaii Department of Agriculture staff reported recent coconut rhinoceros beetle detections near Kona Airport, ongoing trapping and treatments, identified potential breeding sites, and noted related legislative measures under consideration to fund response and strengthen biosecurity.
Jonathan Hill, Plant Quarantine Branch manager for the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, told the State of Hawaii Board of Agriculture the department is responding to coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB) detections centered around the Kona Airport area.
Hill reported about 11 CRB beetles have been detected around Kona Airport since March and said staff, in coordination with the Plant Pest Control Branch, Pesticides Branch, the Department of Health Vector Control Branch and county crews, have increased trapping, conducted weekly trap surveys and carried out crown sprays and systemic injections to treat affected palm hosts. Hill said teams had identified roughly 30 suspected breeding sites but that no CRB larvae (grubs) had yet been…
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