The base tries to help do its part by educating the families that live in military housing and working with groundskeepers to avoid creating CRB breeding habitats. “The Navy works with the Response to monitor CRB populations, survey for CRB damage in palm trees, and identify potential breeding habitat,” said JBPHH Natural Resource manager, Sarah Howard. Natural resource professionals at JBPHH have joined the fight in protecting local coconut palm trees from this invasive beetle. “All parts of the coconut tree were utilized for various purposes including food, housing, crafts, transportation, and cultural ceremonies.” “Coconut, known as niu in Hawaii, has been referred to as the ‘tree of life’ in many places in the Pacific,” said Weiser. There are also impacts to the cultural uses of the plant. The damage to the coconut palms not only creates an unsightly pattern but can also kill mature trees. The CRB burrows within the tree and feeds off of the palms creating damage to the leaves that can be seen from afar. “The health of farmed land and natural areas is important to the livelihood, and enjoyment of residents and visitors.” “I feel that it is extremely important to manage invasive species in Hawaii because we have such a high density of rare and endemic species,” said Weiser. Keith Weiser, deputy operations for CRB Response, believes it is important to control the spread of non-native species that arrive in the state and threaten the ecosystem. It was first detected on Oahu in 2013 near Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH) and the Honolulu airport on Mamala Bay. Experts with the Research Corporation of the University of Hawaii (UH) CRB Response team believe sharing information and collaboration can help stop the tiny animal from spreading outside of Oahu.Īccording to the CRB response website, Oryctes rhinoceros is native to Southeast Asia.
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