Maui Invasive Species Committee (MISC)

Molokai/Maui Invasive Species Committee Update: October – December 2020

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As the MoMISC field crew was conducting roadside surveys in south-central Molokai last December, they found a surprise: saplings of the invasive Ficus religiosa (Bo tree) sprouting from the crook of a mango tree. Because ficus can spread so readily, the crew conducted roadside surveys across hundreds of acres near this invasive fig. Good news – they found no other plants! Roadside surveys help with the early detection of pests and create an opportunity for community education and outreach.

  • Surveys on Molokai

Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV) is now established in Kualapu’u, Ho’olehua, Pala’au, and more recently, Maunaloa. Previous to the December 2020 detection of BBTV, there had only been one other known occurrence of BBTV in the Kaunakakai/Kawela area and none so far in East Molokai. Banana aphids spread the disease from plant to plant, but the only way the virus can move long-distance is when people move plants. The best way to keep banana populations free of BBTV is to avoid transporting banana plants, plant parts, or planting materials from a known BBTV infestation to an area without BBTV. 

Other Molokai highlights include: 

Mule’s foot fern (Angiopteris evecta): Staff surveyed over 40 acres within the Molokai Forest Reserve area, controlling five mature and 13 immature plants. Known for its rounded trunk and gigantic leaves, mules’ foot fern is a pest species that MoMISC continues to monitor and control in the forests of Molokai. 

Quail bush (Atriplex lentiformis): The crew surveyed 1,310 acres of roadside from Maunaloa to Hālawa (nearly one end of the island to the other). These surveys resulted in zero detections — a promising sign that control efforts worked and the species is in decline. Quail bush is adaptive to various environments and habitat conditions. On Molokai, this species invades roadside areas across the island.

MoMISC crews plan to revisit the known rubber vine (Cryptostegia madagascariensis) sites across the island, removing any new or previously undetected plants. Staff will continue testing for little fire ants and monitoring coconut rhinoceros beetle traps at ports of entry. In preparation for the potential threat of coffee-leaf rust (recently detected on Maui), crews will compile archived data and collect information on populations of wild coffee on Molokai.

  • Quail bush is a roadside pest on Molokai. The MoMISC crew surveyed 1,310 acres of roadside looking for this plant with no detections!

You can find all past updates here: UPDATES

Other species updates from this quarter are below:

Hāna Plant Crew Update: October – December 2020

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The Hāna crew focused on protecting the East Maui Watershed by seeking out and removing miconia plants. A short-term crew assisted with work in East Maui. The additional crew of six brought the Hāna team to 12, the largest the crew has been in years. They focused on removing plants along roadways, including the Hāna Highway. Miconia seeds may be accidentally spread by passing cars or in soil along these corridors. Additionally, they worked to protect upper elevation watersheds and responded to new reports. Overall, the Hāna team removed more than 500 mature miconia plants and almost 9,000 immature plants across nearly 400 acres.

  • Hiking through the bushes searching for miconia is hard work with scenic views.

It wasn’t just reports of miconia that the crew followed up on – in December they received three coqui frog reports.  Luckily, no coqui were found and the Hāna and Ke’anae community continue to be coqui-free. The Hāna miconia crew helped clear access trails for little fire ant work in the Ka’elekū area and Twin Falls. These trails allow staff to thoroughly survey for the evasive ant.

You can find all past updates here: UPDATES

Other species updates from this quarter are below:

Pāʻia Plant Crew Update: October – December 2020

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In mid-October, the Pāʻia-based plant crew wrapped up another season of helicopter seek and destroy missions to remove the invasive ornamental pampas grass. The pampas season typically begins in April. Since then, the crew has searched 10,560 acres and taken out 1,330 plants. In doing so, they are preventing this highly invasive grass from spreading into the native forests of East and West Maui. The plant crew also continued to make progress on eradicating the Puʻu o Kali fountain grass site. When MISC staff first visited the site, they found hundreds of plants; on the most recent survey, only seven mature plants remained.

  • Can you spot the pampas grass? Aerial helicopter surveys allow the crew to find these invasive grasses and remove them on the steep mountain slopes of West Maui and remote areas of East Maui.

Both pampas grass and fountain grass promote wildfire and overtake habitats that were once dominated by native species.  On Hawaiʻi Island, fountain grass is rampant and beyond eradication, but in Maui County, only scattered infestations have sprung up, sometimes arriving via contaminated soil, sometimes unwittingly planted.  Currently, the only known fountain grass populations are in Pu’u o Kali, with the crew regularly returning to remove any seedlings. The crew continued work on an ivy gourd population in Waiheʻe, at one of the few sites where this aggressive vine has taken root outside of residential yards or golf courses. Removal efforts are proving successful.

  • Fountain grass is an invasive, drought-tolerant pest rarely found on Maui.
  • In Puʻu o Kali, the fountain grass population is down to a few plants. When found, there were thousands of plants.

MISC continues to be the lead response agency for community reports of dead ‘ōhi‘a trees that may have been killed by rapid ‘ōhi‘a death. During the fall quarter, plant crew supervisor Mike Ade responded to three reports and collected samples for testing by the US Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service in Hilo. All tests came back negative for rapid ‘ōhi‘a death. Please continue to report any ‘ōhi‘a showing ROD symptoms: sudden browning or “wilting” of leaves that may spread throughout and kill the tree within weeks. Read more at rapidohiadeath.org, and report suspected sightings by phone, 808-573-6472, or online at 64PEST.org

  • The community report of an ʻōhiʻa tree showing signs of ROD (rapidly browning leaves), led to the detection and containment of ROD on Maui. MISC responded to three reports of ROD – all samples came back negative.

MISC said “Aloha” to Keli’i Dias, who joined the plant crew in 2014.  Keli’i is continuing his career in conservation, joining the East Maui Watershed Partnership as the Field Crew Supervisor. He will be missed!

You can find all past updates here: UPDATES

Other species updates from this quarter are below:

Little Fire Ant Crew Update: October – December 2020

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The final quarter of 2020 was relatively typical for the LFA battle on Maui. No new infestations were discovered or reported so the team focused on existing sites. Following a year of treatments at two of the most extensive infestations – Twin Falls and Waiheʻe Valley – MISC did full-site surveys in December. During these surveys, staff dropped over a thousand vials baited with peanut butter every few feet throughout each location. We detected a few “hot spots,” which is normal at this stage of control, and the crew will zero in on those areas over the next three months to stamp out remaining pockets. In addition to the large and complicated site in Nāhiku (200 acres of wet jungle), only one other site remains under full treatment: the recently discovered Kaupakalua infestation in Haʻikū, which was detected in September 2020. Community reports of stinging ants, combined with the LFA crew’s hard work and dedication, are clearly paying off.

  • Full-site surveys, where staff drop peanut-butter baited vials every few feet, identify “hot spots” and ensure treatments are effective.

In November, the crew completed a full-site aerial treatment of the Nāhiku infestation. Four more treatments will follow in the first few months of 2021. After we finish this series of treatments, MISC will conduct a week-long survey – with staff from all of MISC’s field crews carefully searching the densely vegetated 200-acre site for any stubborn hot spots.

  • MISC continues with helicopter applications of ant birth control to treat the 200-acre infestation of little fire ants in the dense jungle of Nāhiku.

Elsewhere on Maui, the crew continued monitoring sites in post-treatment to ensure these locations are LFA-free. Staff completed full-site surveys at formerly-infested sites at Kapalua, Lilikoʻi, Kaʻelekū, a resort in Wailea, and a nursery in Kīhei – at all but the Kaʻelekū site there were zero detections of LFA. The Hāna miconia crew helped clear access trails in the Kaʻelekū area and Twin Falls to allow staff to thoroughly survey for the elusive ant.

Public outreach efforts in the Haʻikū area after the discovery of LFA at a site on Kaupakalua Road resulted in a record outpouring of ant samples submitted by members of the public wanting to know if the ants in their Haʻikū yards might also be LFA. Fortunately, none of these samples contained LFA. MISC continues to appreciate high levels of awareness and participation by the community throughout the island.

    You can find all past updates here: UPDATES

    Other species updates from this quarter are below:

    Community Coqui Control Program Update: October – December 2020

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    The MISC Community Coqui Control Program  expanded during November 2020 with the addition of the Akoa/Ala Olu/Makaio neighborhood. Five Ha‘ikū neighborhoods are now participating in the community program. MISC also began offering community spray nights to groups of six or fewer residents. To get involved in community efforts, fill out this form: https://bit.ly/Community-Coqui-Control-Signup or call us: 808-573-MISC (6472).

    • Neighborhood participants and MISC staff after the first micro-neighborhood community coqui control night on Manuahi Place in Haʻikū

    On November 19th, we held the first (online) meeting of the community coqui control advisory group. Participants included community leaders from four of the five neighborhood groups, plus a community leader not currently involved in the program. It was an excellent opportunity to bring the leaders from the different communities together and get their feedback. Terry Tolman from the Lower Kokomo neighborhood said that the coqui spray weeks “are like a barn raising with the community working together.” John Phelps raised concerns about potential impacts to the program if the pandemic affects funding. Interestingly, nearly all of the community leaders have no coqui frogs on their properties yet put in many hours of effort to control coqui in their neighborhoods. Mahalo to all of the participants in our community coqui control advisory group!

    Five neighborhood groups are now participating in community-based control: Haʻikū Hill, Haʻikū Mauka, Haʻikū Makai, Lower Kokomo, and the Akoa/Ala Olu/Makaio neighborhood. The Akoa/Ala Olu/Makaio neighborhood held their first community spray week during the second week of November with eight residents participating. We hope more people will get involved as they become aware of the program. Mahalo to Bonnie and Bill Prucha for spreading the word about the program and taking charge to spray coqui around the neighborhood!

    • A resident from the Haʻikū Makai neighborhood applies the 14% citric acid solution to areca palms in his backyard to control coqui

    We held eight community spray weeks and three community spray nights during the fourth quarter of 2020. According to John Phelps, the captain of the Haʻikū Hill neighborhood, “Spraying each month has reduced the number of frogs on each property from hundreds to only a handful.” Community participants contributed at least 140 hours of active spraying and many hours of handling logistics, including contacting neighbors, picking up and returning equipment, and other behind-the-scenes activities. Community participants sprayed 14,255 gallons of 14% citric acid solution between October and December.

    We are now offering the program to micro-neighborhoods, small groups of six or fewer neighbors working together. MISC staff provide the sprayer and training and then assist with efforts as needed. We started working with three of these micro-neighborhoods in 2020. One community person handles the logistics of rallying neighbors to participate. We will continue to work on a six-week recurring schedule and look forward to expanding this option to more areas. 

    The community coqui control program has grown to three staff: a coordinator and 1.5 FTE liaisons, with the addition of Carl Schwarz as a full-time position. This increased capacity is allowing us to offer the program to more residents. The community coqui control program works closely with the larger coqui crew, which mix and deliver the citric acid solution to reservoirs staged in the neighborhoods. They also drop off equipment and treat areas that are inaccessible to community participants.

    Community participants received over 930 pounds of powdered citric acid through our no-contact powdered citric delivery program. Participants performed coqui control activities on 96 properties; if you need citric acid for coqui control on your own property, let us know through this form (https://bit.ly/Coqui-Maui-Public-Report-Form).

    Removing frog-friendly habitat is a key element of coqui control and proper disposal of green waste helps prevent the spread of coqui frogs (and other invasive species). Through our partnership with Maui Disposal, we provided free green waste bins to the Lower Kokomo and Haiku Makai community coqui control neighborhoods. More than 5.5 tons of green waste were removed under this program!

    You can find all past updates here: UPDATES

    Other species updates from this quarter are below:

    Coqui Crew Update: October – December 2020

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    It was a record-setting quarter for coqui work: At one point, MISC had 22 people on the coqui crew, the biggest team to date. With all those boots on the ground, the team installed nearly 3,000 feet of pipeline for citric acid delivery to infested areas, mainly in the Pe‘ahi and Kauhikoa gulches. These pipelines provide the infrastructure needed to eliminate the infestations of coqui in these steep gulches. Crew sprayed over 115,000 gallons of citric solution across approximately 100 acres. The mauka portions of these sites are now relatively quiet, thanks to the crew’s efforts, including the removal of coqui habitat. On the east side, the Hāna-based plant crew used their knowledge of all-things-invasive to protect the coqui-free areas of Keʻanae and Hāna. In December, the crew followed up on three reports – two in Hāna town and one on the side of the road near Honomanū. The crew confirmed there were no coqui present, but did hear kōlea – the Pacific Golden Plover. The call of kōlea is short and lilting, somewhat similar to the two-note whistle of a coqui. Though the invasive frogs have repeatedly hitchhiked to East Maui, community reporting and quick follow-ups help ensure that crickets, crashing waves, and kōlea continue to be the nighttime soundscape.

    • Habitat control is key to eliminating coqui – it reduces breeding areas and allows for efficient treatment.

    Thanks to community reports, the crew has contained two new coqui populations, keeping them from growing into significant infestations. Only a few frogs remain in dense vegetation near Honokalā in Huelo and off Brewer Road in Makawao. Another outlying population near Five Corners in Haʻikū is down to only a few frogs. Even after no calling frogs remain, the crew will return to each site for a year to ensure the coqui are gone.

    • Crew install PVC pipeline in gulches.
    • Tanks and pumps feed citiric acid solution into the system of pipeline. Staff connect a fire hose to reach sections of gulch.

      The coqui team was sad to see the departure of the American Conservation Experience team, which came with a crew leader and truck, and ready to hit the ground eradicating coqui. Their efforts were essential to success in Pe‘ahi. The remaining crew of 10 staff will be working to maintain the gains brought by the influx of field help.

      For the first time in several years, MISC has the space and capacity to store all our coqui supplies at our main operations headquarters – at the Old Maui High School in Pāʻia. Our crew unloaded the latest citric acid shipment, the equivalent of (22) 20-foot containers, which should be enough to supply the crew for the next several years. Shane Santos and Darrell Aquino, our operations support staff, worked tirelessly to keep equipment running while also setting up the new baseyard. 

      • Success! Twenty-two 20 foot- long containers worth of powdered citric acid is now unloaded at our new baseyard and ready for use!

      Coqui are usually quieter when the weather turns cold, but you may still hear them. You can report single frogs or new populations of coqui online here and, if you live in an area affected by coqui, consider participating in our Community Coqui Control Program.

      You can find all past updates here: UPDATES

      Other species updates from this quarter are below:

      Turn Off Lights at Night to Help Protect Seabirds From Invasive Predators

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      Like many seabirds in Hawai’i, wedge-tailed shearwaters, ʻuaʻu kani, nest on the ground in rock crevices or in burrow. Once this chick’s adult feathers grow in, he will leave his burrow at night, navigating by the moon and stars. Artificial light can disorient young birds. Photo by Forest & Kim Starr.

       “At one time there were so many seabirds in Hawaiʻi they blackened the sky” says Jay Penniman, manager of the Maui Nui Seabird Recovery Project.

      Seabirds have been in Hawaiʻi for a long time, first arriving around 70 million years ago.  The earliest colonists nested on what’s now known as the Emperor Seamount, the northwestern-point of the archipelago that has since eroded below sea level. These ancestral residents mated and reared their young, leaving behind nutrient-rich guano – seabird poop – that helped create soils. Guano nourished and promoted the growth of coral reefs, helping to develop a healthy marine ecosystem.  Seeds of flowering plants arrived, sometimes carried in the feathers of the seabirds themselves, and the life on the Hawaiian Islands continued to develop.

      As new islands emerged, seabirds continued to colonize them. Some species burrowed into cinder atop Haleakalā, others into dunes and the sandy soil along the coastline,  still others in the dense tangle of uluhe fern in the rainforest. Isolation led to the evolution of unique species found nowhere else in the world. Clouds of seabirds helped lead Polynesian navigators to Hawaiʻi.

      Once numbering in the milions, seabird populations today are a mere fraction of that. Seabirds nest in burrows, on the ground, or in the branches of low shrubs. After invasive predators  – cats, rats, and dogs – began to roam the islands,  the adults, young, and eggs too often became lunch or worse—killed for play. Young birds that survive to leave their nest face a different threat: artificial lighting.

      For millennia, the night sky was lit only by the moon and stars.  Fledgling seabirds would leave their burrows after sunset and navigate to sea using the reflection of the moon and starlight on water.  Young birds remain at sea for four to five years until they return home to mate and raise their young.

      Now, every fall, young seabirds fledge into an illuminated world. Man-made lighting shines into the night from streett lamps, porches, and stadiums, confuseing the inexperienced birds. They may circle for hours until they fall from the sky exhausted. Blueish-hued lights are particularly disorientating. For millennia, the light in the cooler blue wavelength meant schools of myctophids (lantern fish), the bioluminescent prey for the fledgling birds.

      Seabirds played a crucial role in the natural history of the Hawaiian Islands, bringing seeds and nutrients that supported the colonization of life on and near the isolated islands. Photo by Forest and Kim Starr.

      Penniman and his team work to tell local residents about the seabirds and respond to reports of downed birds during the fall-out season. One year he was at the Maui Raceway, picking up an petrel, that had crash-landed in the back of a pickup truck. As he gathered up the first bird, bystanders saw another one circling lower and lower. “It fell right at my feet,” says Penniman.  “The bird was panting and its heart was racing.” Though able to wing across thousand of miles of ocean, the fledglings are exhausted and unable to move, making them easy prey for predators and at risk from passing cars.

      Recovered birds typically spend the night in a pet carrier, then researchers weigh the bird and place a numbered metal band on its leg. In the light of day, they release the birds at the shore, where they fly out over the ocean to safety. Penniman has been working with these birds for 15 years. Those bands can help tell a happy ending: heʻs seen rescued fledglings return as adults, wise now to the distraction of man-made lights.

      • Cecelia “Cece” Frisinger lets a young ‘ua‘u (Hawaiian petrel) fly out to sea.
      • Cheryl King releases an ‘ua‘u (Hawaiian petrel)
      Young seabirds are confused by bright lights and circle them until exhausted. When they fall from the sky, they are vulnerable to predators and cars. If you find a seabird on the ground, call 573-BIRD (2473) and the Maui Nui Seabird Recovery Project will pick it up and keep it safe while it rests. The next day the bird will be released to fly safely to the ocean. — Photos courtesy of Maui Nui Seabird Recovery Project

      You can help. If you find a seabird, call 573-BIRD (2473) and someone from the Maui Nui Seabird Recovery Project will come to pick it up. Always keep pets contained and away from seabird colonies.  Also, check your lighting. Penniman recommends the following to prevent outside lights from distracting fledging seabirds:

      • Lessen the intensity — use the minimum brightness necessary, measured in lumens,
      • Turn it off — use lights only when needed and consider installing a motion detector,
      • Point light down, away from the sky.  Shields can direct light towards the ground where it’s needed most
      • Use warmer temperature, long-wavelength light, above 550nm.

      Learn more about seabirds and the Maui Nui Seabird Recovery Project at mauinuiseabirds.org.

      Lissa Strohecker is the public relations and education specialist for the Maui Invasive Species Committee. She holds a biological sciences degree from Montana State University. Kia’i Moku, “Guarding the Island,” is prepared by the Maui Invasive Species Committee to provide information on protecting the island from invasive plants and animals that can threaten the island’s environment, economy, and quality of life.

      This article was originally published in the Maui News on December 12, 2020 as part of the Kia‘i Moku Column from the Maui Invasive Species Committee.

      Read more Kiaʻi Moku articles

      Haʻikū Residents bring back quiet nights through MISC Community Coqui Control Program

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      Haʻikū communities are taking back their quiet nights from noisy, invasive coqui frogs, with tools and training from the Maui Invasive Species Committee (MISC). MISC is currently working with five Haʻikū neighborhoods –Haʻikū Hill, Haʻikū Mauka, Haʻikū Makai, Lower Kokomo and Akoa/Ala Olu/Makaio. The program is ready to assist and empower more Haʻikū residents in the fight against this invasive species to protect their way of life and health of our native ecosystems.

      Ha’ikū residents support each other in controlling coqui frogs on their properties with support from MISCʻs Community Coqui Control Program.

      MISC recognized that in addition to strong support from the County of Maui and State of Hawai’i, containing and eradicating coqui in Haʻikū would require strong engagement at a neighborhood level. MISC launched the program to support and expand on existing community coqui control efforts by residents. MISC provides training, equipment, and citric acid solution (a food additive mixed with water). Community members provide boots on the ground – removing vegetation, hauling hoses, and dousing infested areas with citric acid solution. And it’s working. According to Haʻikū Hill team leader John Phelps, “Spraying each month has reduced the number of frogs on each property from hundreds to only a handful.” Neighbors working together can be more effective than independent control efforts, as coqui can quickly move into untreated areas or reinfest properties without a consistent effort. Participants report an additional benefit: the program is a good opportunity to get involved and meet their neighbors. MISC follows all social distancing and mask-wearing protocols whenever working in the community and all control work is conducted outdoors.

      A Haʻikū residents sprays citric acid to control coqui on his property.

      MISC provides different levels of support, depending on community need and participation. Individual residents can receive free powdered citric acid to control coqui on their property once MISC has confirmed that coqui are present. Residents can also borrow a 9-gallon walk-behind sprayer or a 100-gallon sprayer that fits in the back of a pickup truck. MISC provides training on how to effectively use the sprayers. 

      When three or more neighbors agree to work together across their properties, MISC provides a 100-gallon sprayer to participating residents every six weeks and helps residents with spray operations if needed. For larger groups of neighbors (at least nine committed households, plus a person  who serves as a point of contact) MISC provides a reservoir of pre-mixed citric acid during the specified control week on a six week rotation. Participants report that having mixed citric acid in advance has been a “game changer” as it allows the team to focus directly on control activities. In two neighborhoods, the community groups proposed using a pipeline to effectively treat a larger area. MISC and the residents worked together to design and install the systems.

      MISC provides a variety of sprayers to residents wanting to control coqui frogs on their properties.

      Over the years, MISC has been able to eradicate 21 coqui populations on the island. Abe Vandenberg, MISC Coqui Field Coordinator, says the key to those successes has been persistence and consistency. He emphasizes the importance of community efforts, noting record levels of participation last summer, “Local engagement is a huge help to the island-wide coqui control strategy. As more community members help remove coqui from their own backyards, they allow MISC staff to take on more challenging work in the gulches and other areas with difficult access. Working the process of small wins will lead us toward the biggest possible success –  a coqui-free Maui.”

      Mark Blietz Receives 2020 Mālama i ka ʻĀina Award

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      Mark Blietz, owner of Northshore Tropicals in Haʻikū, is the 2020 recipient of the Mālama i ka ʻĀina. The award is given each year to recognize the efforts of individuals in the landscape and agricultural community towards stopping the spread of invasive species in Maui County. The award is presented by the Maui Invasive Species Committee, the Maui Association of Landscape Professionals, and the County of Maui.

      Blietz is a well-known nursery owner who has led by example throughout his career, both in the landscaping community and throughout Maui. He and his family have been in the nursery business for over 30 years and throughout that time, he has been active locally in the Maui Orchid Society and nationally as a judge in the American Orchid Society. Blietz has been proactive in dealing with invasive species and urges others to do the same. When the stinging nettle caterpillar arrived to Maui in 2008, he started controlling it around his nursery himself to keep from spreading it – he continues to control invasive species, currently working to keep coqui and ivy gourd out of his nursery.

      But it was his generosity over the last year that led to his nomination for the award. The Maui Invasive Species Committee (MISC) needed temporary storage and facilities to keep their crews working after they lost access to the facility they had been in for over a decade. Blietz shared his property and barn, keeping MISC operational until a new baseyard became available. “Mark saved the day for MISC…MISC couldn’t have kept working to protect Maui County from invasive species without his help” said Adam Radford, MISC Manager, in acknowledgement of Blietz’s efforts.

      In accepting the award, Blietz encouraged community action. “There’s so much that we, as stewards of the land, can do to protect our ʻāina from invasive species. Simply being able to identify them and letting them [MISC] know” he said.

      Mark Blietz, recipient of 2020 Mālama i ka ʻĀina Award, pictured at his Haʻikū nursery.


      Due to Covid-19, the award was presented In a small, socially distanced award ceremony in Haʻikū. The presenters included Makaleʻa Ane, Resilience Officer with the County of Maui, Allison Wright, President of the Maui Association of Landscape Professionals, and Adam Radford, Manager of the Maui Invasive Species Committee. This year’s commemorative plaque featured a sculpture of an ʻiliahi branch (the native sandalwood) by glass artist Jupiter Nielsen.

      Community urged to help protect yellow-faced bees

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      Hawaiian yellow-faced bees rely heavily on an intact community of native plants to thrive in their communities. Often times they are avoidant of areas with a large population of non-native species. Photo Lahaina Photography

      The adage “the more you look, the more you see“ is the basis for the “Pollinators in Paradise” project, a new approach to researching Hawaiʻi’s most important native pollinators: the yellow-faced bees.

      As the primary pollinator in the Hawaiian Islands,  these bees were once exceedingly common and found from mountain top to coastline. As they collected pollen to eat, these bees pollinated everything from silverswords to naupaka. Today, the Hawaiian yellow-faced bee populations are in decline and likely to become endangered unless the impacts of habitat loss, invasive species, and climate change can be addressed. Researchers are looking to the community for help in learning more about Hawaiʻi’s only native bees.

      “Today, the Hawaiian yellow-faced bee populations are in decline and likely to become endangered unless the impacts of habitat loss, invasive species, and climate change can be addressed.”

      “There are only a few researchers looking for yellow-faced bees,” says Dr. Jason Graham, one of the researchers and part of the “Pollinators in Paradise” project – a collaboration between Bishop Museum and Graham and funded by a Disney Conservation Grant. The goal of the project is to further Hawaiian yellow-faced bee conservation efforts through education and community involvement.  “We hope to have more eyes out there looking for Hawaiian yellow-faced bees.”

      The Maui Invasive Species Committee urges the general public to keep their eyes out for this native bee. Community members are also encouraged to download the iNaturalist app to track bee sightings in order to guide future conservation efforts. Photo Lahaina Photography

      Built into the “Pollinators in Paradise” project is training: an interactive exhibit will be housed at Bishop Museum for visitors, there are educational kits available for teachers, and Bishop will use webinars to connect visiting school kids with scientists in the field. The ultimate goal is to have school kids and the community reporting sightings of yellow-faced bees through the online social networking application, iNaturalist. Anyone interested can participate.

      Through iNaturalist, community reporters can submit photos of pollinators like the yellow-faced bees. Researchers will review and identify the pollinators. If yellow-faced bees are found, the sightings will be shared with resource managers to help guide future conservation efforts, and these bees need it.

      Unlike honeybees, which form large social colonies with a queen and workers doing many tasks, including caring for young, yellow-faced bees are solitary nesters. Solitary bees lay relatively few eggs, stashing only a few dozen young inside a dead twig or in a hollow piece of coral on a rocky shoreline.  They leave their young provisioned with food but unprotected from predators. This strategy served them well enough for the millions of years they spent in Hawaiʻi isolated from predators. Since human arrival in the islands, some 50 species of ants have made their way to Hawaiʻi (there are no native ants in Hawaiʻi). When ants find the vulnerable eggs and larvae, they feast.

      There are over 60 species of yellow-faced bees native to the Hawaiian Islands. While some may not yet be listed as endangered, all species are in decline, with certain species not seen for 20 years. In October of 2016, seven species of yellow-faced bees gained protection under the Endangered Species Act. To protect what’s left, the scientists need to know more about them, a task that citizen-scientists can help with, once they know where to look.

      Graham offers these tips for finding Hawaiian yellow-faced bees:

      1. Look for native plants: The bees rely on native plants – with much of the islands’ native flora lost to development, agriculture, or taken over by invasive plants, their habitat is fractured. Yet they persist, and sometimes in the most unlikely of places – a patch of native plants growing on the shoreline near a resort for example.
      2. Look for black bees: Yellow-faced bees do not look like the more familiar honeybee. Yellow-faced bees are slender, smooth, and mostly black, and much smaller than the pure black female carpenter bee, another conspicuous non-native bee common in the islands. Some but not all species have yellow on their faces that help identify them and lead to their unique moniker.

      Anyone can participate in the “Pollinators in Paradise” project by downloading iNaturalist and joining the project through the app. Then start snapping photos of pollinators. Graham says cell phone cameras are sufficient for capturing images of the bees — videos work well because they can be paused to show the face of the bee, the key to determining the species. There are special lenses for photographing that clip onto the cell phone camera.

      Learn more about the project through the Pollinators in Paradise Facebook page or the page on the iNaturalist application online.

      Lissa Strohecker is the public relations and education specialist for the Maui Invasive Species Committee. She holds a biological sciences degree from Montana State University. Kia’i Moku, “Guarding the Island,” is prepared by the Maui Invasive Species Committee to provide information on protecting the island from invasive plants and animals that can threaten the island’s environment, economy, and quality of life.

      This article was originally published in the Maui News on December 9th, 2018, as part of the Kia‘i Moku Column from the Maui Invasive Species Committee.

      Read more Kiaʻi Moku articles.

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