Maui Invasive Species Committee
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Give your loved one the gift of local this Valentine’s Day
Flowers. When it comes to courting your Valentine, you gotta have ‘em. Roses may be the standby for the holiday, but don’t overlook the beautiful, locally grown cut flowers available. This year, express your love for Maui as you woo your Valentine with a creative choice of flowers. The locavore movement is nothing new; eating … Continue reading
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Check out the video below to see Dr. Cas Vanderwoude and the “Spackler of Death,” a creative solution to solve the problem of getting ant bait into trees to control the little fire ant or Wasmannia auropunctata. Learn more about the little fire in Hawai‘i and the Pacific at lfa-hawaii.org and littlefireants.com.
How does a two-person team control 850 invasive trees? If you’re MoMISC, you ask for permission first—from the landowner, the ancestors, and the trees themselves. When Lori Buchanan of the Moloka‘i/Maui Invasive Species Committee (MoMISC) learned that albizia trees were invading a steep gulch in Nā‘iwa, she started strategizing. Native to the Indonesian archipelago, albizia … Continue reading
When the crew from the Maui Invasive Species Committee (MISC) arrived on Moloka‘i in February of 2005, they soon realized this was not going to be just another week at work. They were assisting the Moloka‘i/Maui Invasive Species Committee (MoMISC) in controlling a large infestation of rubber vine plaguing the Kamalō and ‘Ualapu‘e areas. The … Continue reading
It starts with a spot, a tiny dot of orange on a leaf bound for Hawai‘i. It could be on cut foliage destined for a florist or on a tree fated for a Hawai‘i yard. The miniscule speck of orange grows, produces spores, and covers the plant. Hawai‘i’s moist climate creates the perfect habitat for … Continue reading
In the final installment of the “Pampas Gone Wild” series, we’ll cover some of the key identification features of pampas grass that differentiate it from the native sedge, Carex. These features can also be used to identify immature pampas in other habitats. If you think you have seen a pampas grass in Hawaii, please contact … Continue reading
An infestation of the much-dreaded little fire ant (LFA), Wasmannia auropunctata, was discovered on a farm in Waihee, Maui, in early October of 2009, the first known LFA foothold on the island. As reported in the Oct. 16 Maui News, Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA) will be working with the owner to eradicate the ½-acre … Continue reading
Last month I began to present my point of view as a conservation scientist relevant to current “controversy” over biocontrol of strawberry guava (Psidium cattleianum), Hawaii’s most damaging invasive plant species. I touched upon the generally accepted theory that many highly invasive plant species, held in check by insects and pathogens in their home range, … Continue reading
