Department of Agriculture & Biosecurity

The Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund and Pōhaku Pelemaka submitted a joint petition earlier this month asking for officials to regulate the movement of CRB host materials around the island.

The declaration forms are meant to identify unwanted plant or animal material brought into Hawaiʻi — an effort to reduce the likelihood of invasive species arriving and establishing on the islands.

The website features interactive dashboards that provide information on pests like the coconut rhinoceros beetle, little fire ant, and coqui frog.

Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity officials are going door to door in Kona Palisades on Hawaiʻi Island to ask for consent from residents to treat palms on their properties.

Commercial businesses are invited to dispose of unused pesticide products through a resumed state program. The last drop-off events brought in nearly 40,000 lbs. of pesticides.

A new one-year rule went into effect Wednesday to help protect Molokaʻi from the invasive coconut rhinoceros beetle by restricting the import of soil and landscaping materials known to harbor the insect. HPR's Catherine Cluett Pactol has more.

The state Advisory Committee on Plants and Animals, under the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity, agreed Wednesday that the rules protecting the island from CRB are insufficient, and that the need to do so constitutes an emergency.

Earlier this week, HPR reported on a petition aimed at stopping the invasive coconut rhinoceros beetle from reaching Molokaʻi. HPR’s Catherine Cluett Pactol shares the next steps of that effort.

The invasive coconut rhinoceros beetle is so widespread on Oʻahu that efforts are focused on containment and management rather than eradication, but the neighbor islands are still fighting to prevent or limit its damage to their communities. HPR’s Mark Ladao has an update on the efforts to contain it.

A non-venomous ball python snake was captured in the backyard of an Oʻahu residence on Sunday night.