Over 900 invasive beetles found during first-of-its-kind hunting tournament in Hawaii

KANEOHE, Hawaii ( KHON ) — Since 2013, coconut rhinoceros beetles have been attacking palm trees in Hawaii. Residents took the fight against the invasive bugs into their own hands on Saturday.

The coconut rhinoceros beetles, or CRB, are native to Africa, Southeast Asia, and China, according to Hawaii’s Invasive Species Council . They were first found at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in 2013, and within 10 years, the species had reached the majority of Hawaii’s islands .

The CRBs are known to bite and bore into young palm fronds, creating holes in the top of the palm tree. If the beetles are able to burrow and eat below a tree’s bark, it can kill them. Experts say the species prefers coconut, royal, date, and fan palms, but will seek out taro, banana, pineapple, and sugarcane if those trees are unavailable.

Hawaii’s Invasive Species Council says the CRB “pose a serious threat to five endemic species of loulu palms” — three of which are already considered endangered or critically imperiled.

Kinai ‘Eha , a nonprofit organization based in Kailua, organized the first-of-its-kind hunting tournament targeting the beetles in Kaneohe.

Luluku Farms, a bit of a hidden gem, is nestled within Hoomaluhia Botanical Gardens, but scores of residents turned out to turn its piles of green waste — organic waste that can be turned into compost — into hunting grounds for invasive beetles on Saturday.

“They’re turning it over, looking for larva, fully grown beetles, eggs and the like. Anything that we can do to get in front of this and mitigate their further spread,” said Kinai ‘Eha organizer Emmit Kane.

Participants had 60 minutes to find as many CRB eggs, larvae, or adult beetles in the green waste as possible.

Over 900 specimens were found during the hour. Larvae were found the most and could have easily taken the prize for the creepiest-looking, but there were still several fully-grown CRBs.

It won’t be the last event, either.

“This is more than we anticipated, we have more than 180 volunteers out here tackling and we’re looking forward to having more island-wide,” Kane said.

As for the eggs, larvae, and adult beetles found on Saturday, they were to be frozen before being incinerated on Sunday.

Incineration is one of a handful of methods used in Hawaii to kill off the beetles. Other options include sending infested material through a wood chipper, heating compost to levels in which CRB die (around 115 °F), submerging breeding material in water, and steaming or fumigating the material.

Federal authorities say the coconut rhinoceros beetle has also been detected in Guam, but there have not yet been any reports of the insect reaching the contiguous United States.

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