Invasive Animals — Page 2 — Maui Invasive Species Committee (MISC)

Iguanas on Maui may be more prevalent than we know

Posted on February 4, 2016 by Lissa Strohecker

On Maui, green iguanas, like this one photographed in the French Antilles, are sometimes seen when they come down from trees. Any sightings should be reported to the Hawaii Department of Agriculture. Photo by Tristan Nicot.

Chuck Chimera only caught a glimpse of the 3-foot long lizard dining on his neighbor’s nasturtiums, but it was enough. He knew he’d seen more than an abnormally large gecko, skink, or chameleon. “I thought my neighbor was just exaggerating when she said she kept seeing a huge lizard,” said Chimera.

The reptile was four feet long including its tail, and green with spines running down the length of its back. A loose flap of skin hung from its jaw. It turned and scrambled into the bushes with remarkable speed. It was not the first, nor is it likely to be the last iguana sighting on Maui.

In some places, iguanas are popular as pets, but it is illegal to possess a green iguana in Hawaiʻi. Getting caught with one here could mean a fine of up to $200,000. They are a threat to people and to the environment, and any sightings should be reported to the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture.

Over the last 20 years, keen observers have spotted the large reptiles on the loose in Kāʻanapali, Kanaio, Makawao, Haʻikū, and Kahului. Alert citizens captured two live turned them in to the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture, one from Kīhei and one from Central Maui, and two dead animals were turned from Makawao.

According to Dr. Fern Duvall of the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources, the frequency of these sightings suggests these animals might not merely be escaped contraband pets. He suspects that feral iguanas are breeding in Kanaio, Haʻikū, and the Puu Koliʻi neighborhood in Kāʻanapali. Before people arrived, lizards did not exist on the Islands. These invaders could cause trouble.

Green iguanas are vegetarian lizards native to low-elevation habitats ranging from Mexico through Central America to Brazil and Ecuador. Females lay a clutch of 20-70 eggs each year. In their natural habitat, juvenile iguanas and eggs become food for rats, hawks, owls, snakes, crocodiles, and people. In Central and South America they are a source of meat and called “gallina de palo,” chicken of the trees. They are so popular on dinner tables in Panama that they are protectively managed as a food source.

Iguanas come down from the trees to drink and several iguanas have been seen near reservoirs on Maui. Photo of iguana in Brazil by Charles Sharp.

But Floridians have yet to develop an appetite for this scaly reptile. In South Florida, green iguanas have become so prolific they are serious pests. They eat people’s landscape plants and gardens, dig up sidewalks and seawalls, and sneak into swimming pools–leaving behind smelly scat that can spread salmonella. The exotic lizards spread the seeds of invasive plants and boot Florida burrowing owls from their burrows. These invaders may be preventing the critically endangered Miami blue butterfly from reestablishing in the Florida Keys; they devour the leaves of the nickerbean vine, the butterfly’s host plant.

Hawaiʻi stands to suffer similar problems if the lizards become widely established here.

How could a large, dinosaur-like lizard live amongst us mostly unnoticed? Iguanas are quiet and docile, spending most of their lives in trees. Sightings generally happen when the scaly climbers descend from the trees to bask in the sun or seek out water.

So look twice at lizards in trees or basking in the sun – if it looks like an iguana, try to take a picture and report it. If you can safely capture the animal, do so, but be cautious as iguanas have sharp teeth and can be aggressive when cornered. Don’t confuse an iguana with the common Jackson’s chameleon, a much smaller, 3-toed lizard that is only 7-10 inches in length. Report any iguana sightings to the Maui Branch of the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture: 872-3848 or to the Pest Hotline – 643-PEST. Illegal pets can be turned in through the Department of Agriculture’s Amnesty Program.

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.

Written by Lissa Strohecker. Originally published in the Maui News on November 8th, 2015 as part of the Kia‘i Moku Column from the Maui Invasive Species Committee.

Pigs and Pampas

Posted on January 12, 2016 by Lissa Strohecker

A spike camp in the East Maui rainforest. Camps like these are home for the crews working to protect and remove invasive species in this remote section of Maui. Photo by Maui Invasive Species Committee.

At about 4000’ elevation, just east of Koʻolau Gap above Keʻanae on the island of Maui, a four foot tall hogwire fence stretches from the cliff edge across ravines and gulches to the next cliff edge at Honomanū. This fence and a rudimentary shelter are the only indications that people have ever set foot up here. It’s a unique section of the mountain; the soil is slow to drain and the ground is boot-sucking wet, even in summer. Clouds drift through the branches of ‘ōhiʻa all day long, leaving everything soggy, though rain may not actually fall.

The fence protects this section of East Maui rainforest from the feral pigs that roam farther down the mountain, but that was not always the case. Pigs are not native to Hawaiʻi. But until a decade ago, they wandered freely up here, miles from the nearest road. Though they weren’t plentiful, they did plenty of damage as they rooted through the soil, leaving patches of bare dirt scattered over hundreds of acres.

Pigs were not the only invaders. Pampas grass, an ornamental once planted in upcountry residents’ yards, sprang up throughout this forest. The tall, clumping grass sends up a feather plume filled with seeds that travel on the wind for miles. Pampas seeds occasionally germinate in mossy tree trunks, but their preferred conditions are bare soil with regular moisture. Pigs in Honomanū cleared and prepped the forest floor for pampas grass. Once a few plants became established, conditions were ideal for spreading. They quickly began to outcompete native species.

Far from the landscaped yards, pampas grass flourishes in the East Maui rainforest, benefiting from the disturbance created by another invader, pigs. Photo by Maui Invasive Species Committee.

Of course it’s not just pampas grass that benefits from the disturbance created by pigs. Many notorious invasives spread into upland forest with the help of wild pigs–strawberry guava and banana poka, for instance. Pigs carry the seeds in their gut, then deposit them with a pile of fertilizer. Their rooting habits create wallows for mosquitoes that spread diseases to native birds. Pigs knock down native hāpu;u tree ferns to reach a starchy meal in the trunk, in the process destroying the fern’s native seedling “nursery.”

In Hawaiʻi, pig impacts are magnified. The rototilling action of a pig is a completely alien force in a forest that evolved for millions of years without a hoof or tusk. “Disturbances to the forest floor from pigs and weed problems go hand in hand,” says Dan Eisenberg, who manages the East Maui Watershed Partnership. His organization built the fence east of Koʻolau Gap and other fences that protect high elevation forest on East Maui.

Fencing out pigs and other hooved invaders is the first step in restoring native Hawaiian ecosystems. When these tusked tillers are removed, plants do better–regardless of whether they are native or introduced. Common native plants recover in under a decade, but rare species often take much longer, and face competition from exotics that became established prior to pig removal. “Invasive plant species are so fast growing compared to most plants in the native forest that our unique native species don’t have a chance without responsible management,” explains Eisenberg.

As pigs dig for roots and grubs, they rototill the soil. Disturbance and bare soil creates gaps in the forest floor opening it up for invasive plants. Photo courtesy of East Maui Watershed Partnership

The East Maui Watershed Partnership completed the fence in Honomanū in 2006, about the same time, crews from the Maui Invasive Species Committee switched from trying to spray pampas from the air to camping in the field while removing pampas on the ground. Weeklong work trips are a less soggy ordeal since the team built a tent platform. When crews find pampas hiding amongst the native foliage, they cut off any seed heads, bury them inside the plant, and then kill the pesky grass in place, being careful to not disturb the soil and open up an area for seeds to germinate again.

During the summer of 2014, crews found and controlled 87 pampas plants, only 4 of which were capable of making seeds. Compare this with the summer of 2008, when crews found 2,029 plants. Pampas grass seeds don’t remain viable for long, perhaps as short as 6 months. Soon the East Maui pampas may disappear entirely and the forest can rebound.

Read more about the efforts to remove pigs and pampas grass on East Maui at www.eastmauiwatershed.org and www.mauiisc.org.

Written by Lissa Strohecker. Originally published in the Maui News on October 11th, 2015 as part of the Kia‘i Moku Column from the Maui Invasive Species Committee.

Make your yard less frog-friendly

Posted on June 23, 2015 by Lissa Strohecker

Coqui spend their days foraging in leaf litter for ants and other insects. They do not have a tadpole stage, and therefore do not need standing water to reproduce. Coqui lay eggs inside a rolled or folded up leaf, leaf litter, damp moss, or other shelter sites. By limiting the areas they can forage and nest, you will make your yard less appealing to coqui frogs and control efforts will be more effective

How to make your landscaping less coqui-friendly:

Limit and/or remove rubbish and green waste piles (chip it up), coqui like to hide in green waste. If you have coqui in your green waste pile, spray well with citric before moving
Don’t plant bromeliads or consider replacing them.
If you have cane grass, mow it.
Remove dead leaves on banana, ti, and other plants with large leaves
Thin out understory vegetation.

Find more tips for eliminating frog-friendly habitat here: http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/coqui/eliminate.asp

How to Mix Citric Acid for Coqui Control

Posted on June 23, 2015 by MISC

Follow all label directions. You can find a generic label for citric acid here: Citric Acid 25b label

Making your own citric solution:

MISC recommends mixing citric at a 16% solution or 1.28lb of anhydrous citric acid per gallon of water. The best method is to mix the solution by weight it but if you mix by volume use approximately 2 1/2 cups per gallon.
Citric dissolves in solution, but needs to be thoroughly agitated when mixing so that citric chunks will not clog your sprayer.
MISC can supply citric to community members. Call Rebecca Creighton, Coqui Field Coordinator at 808-633-6646 to acquire citric.

Storage:

To keep your gear (pumps, sprayers, etc.) in good shape, it is best to thoroughly rinse it with water. Metal pieces that have been touched by citric will start to corrode if not properly washed after each use.
It is best to store unmixed citric in a dry and shady area.

Common-sense caution:

Some plants are sensitive to citric acid, and can be burned if sprayed. You can reduce the damage to sensitive plants by rinsing off the spray within 15 minutes. Plants sensitive to citric acid solution
It is important to wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) when applying citric acid, as citric acid can irritate your eyes and skin. PPE includes shoes, long-sleeves, long pants, eye protection, and ear protection (if applicable).

Follow all label directions. You can find a generic label for citric acid here: Citric Acid 25b label

Got Guano?

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Lissa Strohecker

This albatross colony on Midway Atoll is representative of what the historic density of seabirds may have been throughout Hawaiʻi. Declines in the seabird population have an impact throughout the ecosystem. Photo by Forest and Kim Starr.

When horticulturalists at Maui Nui Botanical Gardens want to give an extra boost to their most sensitive and critically endangered Hawaiian plants, they bring out the seabird and bat guano. Why guano? It’s the natural nutrient-packed fertilizer that Hawaiian plants are used to.

Prior to the first canoe reaching Hawaiian shores, taloned and feathered beasts ruled these Islands. Scientists estimate that seabird populations on the main Hawaiian Islands were equivalent to what the 18^th century explorers found on the Northwest Hawaiian Islands–in other words, plentiful. Some accounts indicate seabirds were so abundant they blackened the sky. And if they could darken the sky with their wings, they were certainly capable of whitening the ground with their poop, aka guano.

Bird droppings may not be welcome on your car, but plants benefit from the splattered remains of a seabird’s meal. Guano is a gift for growing seedlings: high in nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium–nutrients essential for plant development. The more guano drops from the sky, the more plants sprout from the ground. This growth affects the entire ecosystem. As plants decompose, they provide plentiful and nutritious food for insects, nematodes, snails, and assorted detritivores, as well as soil bacteria and fungus.

An ʻuʻau chick in a burrow. Once plentiful, the ground nesting Hawaiian petrel is critically endgangered, threatened by feral cats, mongoose, and barn owls. Photo by Jay Penniman

An ʻuaʻu chick in a burrow. Once plentiful, the ground nesting Hawaiian petrel is critically endangered, threatened by feral cats, mongoose, and barn owls. Photo by Jay Penniman

Hawaii’s seabird populations are only a fraction of what they once were. The ‘ua‘u, or Hawaiian petrel, was once the most abundant seabird in the Islands. Today this burrowing resident is endangered. In Maui County, remnant populations exist atop the summits of Haleakalā on Maui and Lānaʻihale on Lānaʻi. The reason for the species’ decline is simple, yet irreversible. They were gobbled up by people, rats, mongoose, and barn owls; the hillsides where the birds nested are now pastures, golf courses, farms, and shopping centers. Other seabirds, such as the wedge-tailed shearwater, Newell’s shearwater, and Bulwer’s petrel once filled the air with their cries; these species now live in scattered, isolated populations.

If efforts to restore seabird colonies on the main Hawaiian Islands are successful, this may be a site any resident or visitor to Hawaii can see. For now, you have to visit Midway to see Laysan albatross this dense. Photo by Forest and Kim Starr.

Fewer seabirds mean fewer plant fertilizers. We may never fully understand how declines in pelagic bird populations impact the environment in Hawaiʻi, but research on islands in New Zealand offers some insight into what happens when avian populations crash due to introduced predators. Comparing islands that had been invaded by rats with those still dominated by seabirds, researchers found that the soil on rat-infested islands had a much different nutrient composition and pH. Additionally, the types and abundance of insects and other invertebrates varied, possibly due to differing rates of plant growth and nutrient uptake. The scientists concluded that reducing the seabird population triggers effects that cascade through entire ecosystems, down to the smallest microorganism.

Back in Hawaiʻi, there’s an opportunity to find out what happens in reverse–how a seabird-based ecosystem can recover when the invaders are removed. At Kaʻena point on Oʻahu, rats have been eradicated A predator-proof fence now prevents rodents from re-entering the 59-acre protected area. The resurgence of seabirds, with their increasing deposits of poop, will soon boost nitrogen and stimulate the recovery of native plants.

The loss of a single species has implications for the entire ecosystem. In this case, it’s just about the birds, it’s about what they leave behind, what lives off that, and on and on, all the way down.

You can support the restoration of Hawaiian seabird populations. Visit websites for Maui Nui Seabird Recovery Project (www.mauinuiseabirds.org/restoration/) and Hawaiʻi Offshore Islet Restoration Committee to learn more (http://www.hawaiioirc.org/about-us/).

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.

Originally published in the Maui News, February 8th, 2015 as part of the Kia‘i Moku Column from the Maui Invasive Species Committee.

Look closely—the endemic insects of Haleakalā

Posted on March 13, 2015 by Lissa Strohecker

The flightless moth of Haleakalā is one of the more dramatic examples of evolution in Hawaiian insects. Photo courtey of Forest & Kim Starr

The flightless moth of Haleakalā is one of the more dramatic examples of evolution in Hawaiian insects. Known to science as Thyrocopa apatela, this moth lives only on the barren slopes of Maui’s highest peak. As caterpillars, they spin webs in rock crevices to catch dead leaves blowing past for food. Adult moths hop like grasshoppers across the ground – up to 10 times their body length. Though its evolutionary ancestors could fly, the adults of this species have only partial wings. This unique behavior may have evolved as a result of environmental conditions: high winds and cold may have meant that flight was not an advantage for the moths.

In Hawaiʻi, the climate varies dramatically from one area to another within a short distance. Even if the drizzle never lets up at your house, it could be sunny all day a half mile away. These microclimates create a variety of habitat types that plants and animals have evolved to take advantage of, the tiniest residents included. Native insects and spiders often specialize to survive in their tiny piece of paradise, resulting in the amazing adaptations seen among Hawaiʻi’s insects and spiders.

Of the native Hawaiian insect species, an estimated 98 percent are endemic—meaning they are found nowhere else in the world. Arachnids (spiders) follow suit; an estimated 96 percent of Hawaiian spiders are endemic. The changes that the crawling and flying critters have undergone after arriving in the islands have been dramatic, in part because there are so many varied environmental conditions in a limited area. An ecological niche may be left open that an insect species rapidly adapts to fill.

Researchers have been evaluating potential control measures for the invasive Argentine ant. Photo by Forest and Kim Starr.

But today, exotic predators prove to be one of the greatest threats to the flightless moth and other creatures in the alpine environment. The Argentine ant, Linepithema humile, arrived in Hawaiʻi in 1940, most likely by hitching a ride in military cargo. First detected at Fort Schaffer on Oʻahu, people then unwittingly spread Argentine ants throughout the state; by 1967 ants had been carried to Hosmer’s Grove. Hawaiʻi has no native ants and his alien ant is one of 50 plus ant species accidentally introduced to Hawaiʻi but while most ants live in lower elevations, the Argentine ant prefers the cooler climates of higher elevations

The insects and spiders found in the alpine ecosystem belong to a greater system: the yellow-faced bee and a Hawaiian noctuid moth pollinate silverwords; the silverswords in turn provide habitat for the Hawaiian long-horned beetle, a plant hopper, and the tephritid fly. Extremely rare carabid beetles scavenge a meal from whatever comes their way-researchers only recently rediscovered some of these species, once thought extinct, on the slopes of Haleakalā. The predatory Argentine ant could wipe out this food web shaped over millions of years of evolution. Regular monitoring of Argentine ant populations in Haleakalā National Park has shown that in areas where the invasive ant is present, insect diversity drops by 50 percent and overall insect abundance drops by 65 percent.

Since people first introduced the Argentine ant o Haleakalā, it has spread quickly from the small infestation in Hosmer’s grove. In 1982, a second infestation was found near the Kalahaku overlook on the crater rim. Since Argentine ants don’t have a mating flight, the ants most likely hitched a ride when people inadvertently moved nest material. In Haleakalā National Park the Argentine ant has spread at rates exceeding 150m per year; left unchecked, the ant could cover 75 percent of the subalpine shrubland and Haleakalā crater—critical habitat for many native Hawaiian species.

Researchers have been evaluating potential control measures within the park, particularly for source infestations, such as campgrounds, from which people may unintentionally spread the ant. You can help by making sure your gear and picnic supplies are clean and free of all ants, Argentine or not, that you may have picked up elsewhere in your travels.

Learn more about the native insects on Haleakalā and how the Argentine ant threatens them at http://www.hoikecurriculum.org/unit/good-critters-bad-critters/

Originally published in the Maui News, January 11th, 2015 as part of the Kia‘i Moku Column from the Maui Invasive Species Committee.

Coqui calls on the rise

Posted on November 20, 2014 by Lissa Strohecker

A male coqui guards a clutch of eggs inside a pipe. With coqui populations on the rise throughtout the state there is an increased likelihood of coqui inadvertently reaching Maui. MISC file photo

The call of the lone coqui may not be increasing in volume, but calls reporting coquis on Maui are on the rise.

There’s been a dramatic increase in coquis arriving on Maui. In 2013, 25 Maui residents reported the presence of these noisy amphibians, almost double the reports from 2012 and 2011 combined. And the trend seems to be continuing for 2014, with reports of these invaders popping up in surprising places across Maui.

Coqui frogs are known to be in a handful of scattered populations around the island. According to the Maui Invasive Species Committee, all are under control and on target for eradication, with the exception of Māliko Gulch in Ha‘ikū. But the influx of new arrivals has the MISC crew concerned.

“We interview homeowners when there are new frogs reported, but we haven’t found any clear source of introduction,” said MISC Operations Manager Adam Radford. “In general, there are more frogs in the state than there used to be.” As coquis increase in number, particularly on Hawaii Island, so do the chances that the notoriously loud hitchhikers will spread elsewhere.

If you have heard a coqui, you know why they are not a welcome addition to your neighborhood. A single male frog has an 80- to 90-decibel screech, as loud as an alarm clock or freeway traffic. The frogs call from dusk until dawn. Coquis arrived in Hawai‘i sometime before 1988. In the absence of predators or competitors, their numbers ballooned, reaching densities exceeding 36,000 frogs per acre – two to three times greater than in their native range in Puerto Rico.

The coquis’ ear-splitting chorus may be the most obvious impact of this invasive species, but recent research suggests there are secondary, less-apparent consequences to allowing these quarter-sized pests to become established. Researchers have long known that coquis eat invertebrates such as insects, spiders and worms, but they recently discovered how these invasive amphibians skew the ecosystem in Hawai‘i.

What goes in must come out. The coqui frogs’ most significant change to the landscape is through the increased nutrient input from their droppings. While this sounds like a good thing, altering nutrients can create an environment more hospitable to non-native species.

This coqui was discovered by an observant Maui resident, hiding in a potted plant recently purchased from a garden shop. MISC file photo.

Researchers found increased leaf production rates in invasive strawberry guava in coqui-invaded sites compared to other sites. Plants native to Hawaii evolved in nutrient-poor conditions, so increased nutrient input favors non-native plants. Additionally, scientists found a greater number of insects in the order Diptera (flies) associated with coqui-invaded areas, the outcome of more excrement and more coqui carcasses.

Unfortunately, the coqui frog is widespread on Hawai‘i Island and cannot be eradicated. There, residents work together to control frogs in individual neighborhoods, and nurseries bathe plants at a hot water treatment facility before shipping stock off island. Barriers around parking lots prevent frogs from moving between cars and the areas surrounding the lot. But in the big picture, these stop-gap measures only will provide a temporary respite. We can prevent this from happening on Maui. With only one significant population in Māliko Gulch, land managers believe that the frogs can be eradicated, and new infestations thwarted.

You can help. Report coqui frogs to the Maui Invasive Species Committee at 573-6472. Support business and landscapers who take steps to prevent the spread of coquis via the plant trade. And, find a list of certified coqui-free businesses at coquifreemaui.org. For more detailed information about recent research on impacts of coqui, check out the coqui frog information page under priority pests at mauiinvasive.org.

By Lissa Fox Strohecker. Originally published in the Maui News, August 10th, 2014 as part of the Kia‘i Moku Column from the Maui Invasive Species Committee

CRB spells trouble for Hawaii’s palms

Posted on July 28, 2014 by Lissa Strohecker

At over 2.5″ in length, the Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle would seem hard to miss, yet it spends most of it’s life in the crown of a palm tree. Photo courtesy of Hawaii Department of Agriculture.

At two and a half inches long and sporting large horns on the front of its head, the coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB) is a remarkable-looking creature, but this lumbering giant of an insect is also a devastating pest of coconut and palm trees. Following its arrival on Palau in 1942, this critter from Southeast Asia quickly spread widely, wiping out 50 percent of the palms in the archipelago.

On December 23, 2013, during a routine survey of the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, surveyors discovered the coconut rhinoceros beetle in palms on the base, marking it the first reported case of the insect in Hawai‘i.

Teams mobilized to survey the surrounding area and control the infestation. Based on the size of the population, the beetle may have been present for up to two years.

Populations of the beetle in its home range are kept in check by natural controls (predators, disease, and competition) but globalized shipping has transported the beetle throughout the Pacific; it has become a major palm pest, affecting the Philippines, the Republic of Palau, Fiji, American and Western Samoa, and most recently Guam. It has spread elsewhere in the world, hitching rides in the holds of aircraft, through nursery stock, cargo, mulch and sawdust.

The beetles leave boring holes in the crown of coconut palms. Photo courtesy of HDOA

When coconut rhinoceros beetle was detected in Guam in 2007, Hawai‘i officials grew concerned that the pest would make its way here, given the regular exchange of goods between the islands; however, it’s not known how the beetle arrived in Hawai‘i, nor where it came from.

Notable as they are in appearance, these beetles spend most of their adult stage out of sight, high in the tops of coconut trees. These monstrous beetles bore into the crowns of healthy palms, biting through unopened leaves and then feed on the sap produced by the injured plant.

Mature coconut trees can typically withstand feeding damage, but young plants under three years old often die. Over time, the mature trees are not replaced.

The population of these giant beetles grows quickly. An adult female beetle lays 70 to 140

As CRB bore through unfurled leaves the leave signs of damage that become apparent as the leaves unfurl. But this is not a definitive indication–other damage can leave V-shaped cuts. Photo courtesy of HDOA

eggs in its lifetime, depositing the eggs in mulch heaps or soft logs where they hatch into large whitish larvae. Even the larvae reach an impressive size: between 2 3/8 inches to just over 4 inches long. These brown-headed larvae with bluish-grey tail tints feel “squishy” and crawl on their sides. They lack any marking on the underside of their mouth.

Larvae mature through several stages over the next 2 to 3 months and finally form a cocoon where they become adult beetles. The adults hatch out at night, flying a few hundred feet to a nearby tree

While coconuts are the preferred host, the beetles can live on other palms, bananas, sugar cane, agave, even ironwood and taro.

Based on current surveys, the infestation on Oahu seems limited, with all known sites under active control. However, with any flying insect, certainty about the extent of an infestation can be challenging. Coconut rhinoceros beetles have not been detected on Maui. The key to preventing their establishment–and protecting coconuts, native and landscape palms in Hawai‘i–is detecting their presence early. You can help by looking for boring holes in the palm crown and the distinctive V-shaped cut on the leaves. Other types of pests can cause cuts and boring, but if you see these symptoms, an expert can help check it out.

To learn more, visit the Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture CRB update page at http://hdoa.hawaii.gov/pi/main/crb/. Submit pictures of damaged coconuts or palms via the Project Noah website. Look for the mission entitled “Help Save Hawai‘i’s Coconut Trees”- projectnoah.org/missions/18256600. You can also use, the online reporting tool at reportapest.org, or call the Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture’s Pest Hotline at 643-PEST (7378) toll-free from any island.

By Lissa Fox Strohecker. Originally published in the Maui News, April 13th, 2014 as part of the Kia‘i Moku Column from the Maui Invasive Species Committee.

The little fire ant-bad news for food crops

Posted on June 30, 2014 by Lissa Strohecker

Liitle fire ant colony inside a macadamia nut

Little fire ants have many queens in the colony, and by moving a queen the population spreads to new areas. If you live in an area infested with little fire ant, don’t bring the pest to your new home. Photo courtesy of Hawaii Department of Agriculture.

The little fire ant, Wasmannia auropunctata, is a pest with a deservedly nasty reputation. Alone, this wee ant is neither aggressive nor impressive, but with her sisters, living in a network of colonies stretching from tree-top to ground, she has a dramatic impact. Once established, little fire ants are more than a pest, they will put the kibosh on agriculture. Little fire ants have already shut down fruit orchards in the Hilo area and their establishment threatens agriculture throughout the state.

Little fire ants do not compete between colonies; rather, they cooperate, blanketing the ground and trees and outcompeting other ant species for food and resources. Other insects and animals may also be pushed out and end up abandoning highly-infested areas to the little fire ant.

As little fire ants find homes in bananas, citrus, rambutan, and coffee trees, farmers faced with new difficulties in harvesting their crops. Because the ants don’t hold on well to branches, scads of tree-dwelling ants rain down on workers become trapped in their clothing, and sting in self-defense.

fungus on coffee infested with little fire ants

Stinging ants raining down upon harvesters is enough of an obstacle for coffee infested with little fire ant, but additionally, yields are reduced because little fire ants protect aphids that support plant disease, like this fungus. Photo by Cas Vanderwoude

In the Galapagos, little fire ants have made harvesting coffee one of the most difficult ways to earn a living; coffee harvesters now command a higher wage than other agricultural workers to compensate them for the aggravation. Increased costs affect farm profitability; in several areas of the Galapagos, coffee plantations lay abandoned because of the little fire ant. In Kona, the famed coffee-growing area, and elsewhere in the state, most coffee is harvested by hand. The spread of LFA into coffee plantations will be a huge blow to an industry already struggling to address the coffee borer beetle, another invasive pest that threatens the coffee industry as it reduces yields.

Little fire ants threaten more than just coffee. In Brazil and Cameroon, little fire ants infest cacao farms. In Puerto Rico, Florida and New Caledonia, little fire ants have overrun citrus

Cacao and other tree crops are particularly susceptible to little fire ant infestations. Photo used by permission from Cas Vanderwoude.

groves and in some areas practically blanket the ground.

The ants are causing havoc with other types of agriculture as well. Little fire ants cause blindness in animals and livestock, poultry, and pets in infested areas have a much higher incidence of blindness than do animals without LFA.

Controlling these ants is extremely difficult, especially for tree crops, as few pesticides are registered for use in trees and the bait must stick to branches long enough for the ants to find it. Existing control techniques rely on traditional pesticides; an effective organic method has yet to be developed.

As with any invasive species, preventing spread and establishment are the most cost-effective approaches. Eradication is possible only if the population is small. Once established, these ants may be forever. Little fire ants are widespread on the eastern side of Hawaii Island and beyond eradication in that area, but further spread throughout the state can be prevented. Help protect agriculture on Maui, as well as your own quality of life. Support efforts to prevent their movement between islands and quarantine and check any plants or soil you bring on to your property for little fire ants. Learn more at www.lfa-hawaii.org and www.littlefireants.com.

By Lissa Fox Strohecker. Originally published in the Maui News, May 13th, 2012 as part of the Kia‘i Moku Column from the Maui Invasive Species Committee.

Invasion: Little Fire Ants in Hawai’i [video & transcription]

Posted on February 3, 2014 by MISC Leave a Comment

[Transcription] There is a new, invasive, stinging ant now established on the Big Island that threatens the environment, the economy, and the way of life on all the Hawaiian Islands.

How could this be? How could I not know about this? How could this be something that’s going to threaten me so badly and I’ve never heard of it?

When you look in the grand scheme of things, the nastiest of the invasive ants, with the greatest impact on Hawai’i is the little fire ant.

http://www.LFA-Hawaii.org/

A guy came in with his back completely covered with fire ant bites. I would guess two hundred, three hundred bites.

They’d crawl up our legs, they were on our couches, in our beds, in my dresser. Millions of ’em. They were just everywhere.

I’ve been the manager of the Maui Invasive Species Committee for more than a decade. Working with an amazing team of people, staff, partners, working to control and eradicate the most harmful species across Maui Nui. I’ve had the opportunity to work on issues statewide. Traveling to Big Island, Kaua’i, and Tahiti, I’ve seen just how devastating the little fire ant can be and my concern has only grown. I’m now convinced that without an extraordinary effort, the little fire ant will be a catastrophe for Hawai’i.

The little fire ant is native to South America. Moved by human travel and commerce the ants have spread to many islands in the Pacific with devastating impacts. In 1999, little fire ants were discovered in Puna on the Big Island. Now they are widespread in Hāmākua, Hilo, and Puna, from Waipi’o to Kalapana. By 2011 they had spread to Kona and are now established in many sites. In 1999, they were found in Kalihiwai on Kaua’i, and in 2009 a small infestation was confirmed in Waihe’e, Maui.

Dr. Cas Vanderwoude in an expert on the little fire ant who has worked on ants throughout the Pacific. He is now based in Hilo as Hawai’i’s ant specialist.

I was working on a project in New Guinea and the locals there took me to a place that was infested with little fire ants. And the impacts were so extraordinary, the problems that this species caused were so huge, that it was sort of a bit of a turning point for me, I guess, and from that time onward I spent more and more of my time working researching ways to control this species and also looking at the kind of impacts this species has on both people, and on the environment, and on agriculture.

Now with little fire ants, we have colonies with lots and lots of queens. So if one queen dies, it’s not that important because there are other queens that will take her place. And those queens will stay with that parent colony, or walk away a few feet, or a few yards so that they remain connected to the parent colony all the time where really most scientists would consider that network to be a single colony and we would call that a super colony. Super colonies can span many aces, many thousands of acres in some cases where all the workers you would find all work together and cooperate with each other.

The Hawaiian Islands are in the early stages of infestation. Unless we stop their spread, little fire ants will form massive super colonies on each island changing Hawai’i forever.

Most ants like open, sunny, kind of drier places, but little fire ants are much more of a rainforest species. They like it shady, they like it wet, and they like to live in trees, which again, most ants will nest in the ground and then actually forage on trees but these will look for places to set up their nests in the trees themselves. For an arboreal species, for a species that like to live in trees, they’re not actually very good at hanging on. So even a small bump to vegetation will result in a rain of these little ants falling down onto the person or the animal that’s bumped the tree.

We got rained upon by all of these fire ants. We didn’t know what it was, but it was very, very painful it was. Like burning after that, just had to go take a shower and it still was burning after that.

The sting’s actually very small and a lot of people don’t notice that it’s an insect that stung them. What they end up with is, a few minutes after being stung, they end up with a rash.

It was like, what is this rash? Intensely itchy, painful rash. And the itch, if you can not scratch is manageable, manageable if you don’t scratch. But kids scratch and adults scratch. And you know it’s just very hard to not go, I have a fire ant bite right here, it’s very hard for me to not dig at it right now cause it’s itching me.

They were so itchy, they were so, so itchy and I mean even a day or two after I got bit they were still itchy. They hurt for a long time and they leave scars, too cause I would scratch them I guess.

The pattern of fire ant bites is that they disappear for a while and then they come back, they disappear for a while and then they come back. And over three or four days, on day three it can be just as itchy as it was on day one. The next level of concern is infection, that’s when people dig at it. And around here when you have an open sore, you’re going to get infected. You’re gonna get a staphylococcal infection and then chances are really good that it’s gonna be MERSA and so that’s what we are dealing with at the clinic.

Yeah, well I remember the first time Michaela got bit by a fire ant. It bit her on her chest and it swelled and it was red and it was really angry looking and I think she was maybe not even a month old, I think, and I just freaked out.

You know we’d sit and the couch and you’d look on the ground and you’d see ants, you know, right under you. So we couldn’t put her on the ground.

You’d have to dust your feet off before you sat on the couch or got into bed. Shake your towels out, your clothes out. They were just everywhere. It was everywhere.

Now, it’s just really a prevalent problem. They’re everywhere. I think everybody would have a story about an infestation in their homes, in their cars. They’re all over in the schools. Prior to the very recent treatment of this school, they were in my classroom. It’s challenging in an elementary school and an edible garden. I had to let all the parents know, we have this problem. If you kid comes home with a…you know, make sure that none of them have allergies. But everybody at one point or another got a bite or two. The custodians, I mean they a hard time maintaining the campus because all of the foliage around the campus was just loaded.

So, when they did the septic tank they brought in materials and they brought in cinder, so I’m thinking that they probably brought in the ants too. We never had that problem before. And then whatever we move around, the materials, you spread around for the campus, so we probably spread it more.

People are being stung in their homes, at work, and in parks. Public land and wild places may be abandoned to the ants. Hunting, hiking, and even beach trips will not be the same. The ants have already infested parks in the Hilo area.

We notice because it’s around out tower. And then for some of the people that lay out on the grass or sometimes they lay out on the far side, over there and they come telling us they’re getting bit. It falls off the trees, too, sometimes. It falls onto the beach patrons and they come up, something’s burning their neck and…[sigh]. It’s a really bright, bright day you see the little ant cause it’s really small. That thing actually went with us to our homes. That’s the, that’s the bad part. In our cars. They spread and end up in your bed and you get a bite in the night and not a good feeling. Yeah, it’s getting worse, it’s getting worse.

But for people that live a subsistence lifestyle, that live, you know, very firmly connected with the land, that produce most of their own food and the things that they need from their own land. And they have to suffer the crop losses or the economic losses or the production losses and there’s not a lot that they can do about it.

Everywhere, there’s not, not one spot without ants. If he didn’t treat, he’d have no life, no income. So, t he ant has been here for six years and he’s been able to contain it right on his property and trying to find a way to get rid of it.

Some of the people I talk to they feel really trapped because they don’t have the ability either financially or technically to actually deal with these issues, so it just adds an extra burden to their life.

They don’t even want to eat their bananas any more. The pineapple is full of ants. The ants get into the taro. What was it like before the ants came, living here? A lot of food. It was really nice. A lot of food. Paradise. It was paradise, but they don’t give up. How long has the land in this area been a part of her family? Generations. How often do you get stung? Everyday, everyday, everyday. When the wind is really strong, don’t come outside. A lot of people have abandoned their land already. Her cousin abandoned his land, up there they abandoned they’re land. They left. They don’t wasn’t to live here anymore. They gave up.

So Tahiti is the most populated island in French Polynesia. It is also the biggest one with the tallest peaks and mountains, so it has the richest biodiversity in French Polynesia. We’ve got about 850 native plants including 550 endemics. If some colonies are accidentally moved to those higher elevation areas it would be an ecological disaster.

Like Tahiti, Hawai’i is an evolutionary showcase with an exceptionally high number of plants and animals found nowhere else in the world. Little fire ants have the ability to transform and decimate native places and species. Forest birds and ground nesting sea birds are at risk along with sea turtle hatchlings. Even the smallest creatures, bugs, beetles, and spiders are vulnerable. In some infested areas of New Caledonia, little fire ants now dominate, making up more than 90% of insects with impacts cascading throughout entire ecosystems.

Hawai’i’s got quite a remarkable number of seabirds for the area. We have 23 breeding species of seabirds. Probably 20 would be directly threatened by ants in a large way. And all of them have this really long incubation period and long defenseless period. This about a month old chick of a wedgetailed shearwater and you can see it’s pretty helpless. There’s no tail feathers or wing feathers. A big, fat, ball of down. These birds are particularly susceptible to ants during the period of time when the egg is ready to hatch. It makes a hole in the egg shell which allows ants and things to actually enter it and to start directly attacking the chick inside of the egg. If ants were to get into some of the of the low wet forests like I’ve heard that they’ve done in other areas, they may be the thing that would push Newell Shearwaters and low elevation nesting Hawaiian Petrels or other endangered species over the edge.

The effect that it has on pets. The blinding and I’m sure it’s got to be very painful for them to be constantly being bitten or stung.

At start she was loving to go in the bush. Now she stays home. She is blind.

One time we did witness a bite on the eye. He came in right after and just ferociously rubbing his eye. You know, he was in a lot of pain for a while. You could tell. A few hours, sat and just licked and rubbed his eye.

The black one who is affected the most, if I pick him up, it never fails, he’s got fire ants in his fur. I’m bitten every time I pick him up.

Every single animal we have, we have three cats and two dogs and every single one of them has a, have clouded cornea. There’s no question that the fire ants and the clouded cornea come together I don’t know how you prove it.

Being here I know, I know that’s what ‘s doing it. Feeling the stings, I’m sure that it’s the fire ants.

We’re animal lovers, yeah. They’re very much a part of the family.

When I first heard that the little fire ant had arrived on Maui, my heart sank because I knew what a threat it posed and knew what the challenges are associated with trying to control a pest species that is so small, but that can be so powerfully damaging.

When we were making a banana delivery my glasses had dropped to the ground and when I picked them up and put them on I got bit on the eye. And it was so severe. I had to, like, run to the house and put ice on my eye. I had to lay down and the thought came that, I wonder if this is the fire ant. Initially when they came out to do the testing, so they put the peanut butter sticks everywhere, where we felt the ant, we’d experienced the ant. And it came back positive. It was evident that the destruction that the fire ant can bring to an island, which is what’s happening on the Big Island is something we did not want to happen here on Maui. Then whatever contribution we could make to help prevent the fire ant from coming to Maui we were gonna make.

So Maui was a good small scale test case. And Kaua’i presents a good opportunity for a large scale test case on eradication.

Right here we’re on Kalihiwai Beach. It’s a beautiful sandy scape and it abuts this cliff side area. The ant infestation is actually along that cliff line around the corner.

And as I got to the bottom of the cliff where i go holoholo and I could feel some bites all over my shoulders and my back and I was like, ho, what is this? And then I could see some ants was on top of me. When it’s wet, you’re always grabbing trees, grabbing the rope, so I guess that’s what kinda makes ’em all come down too on you. And you’re getting bit going down the trail and it’s like, ahhh. That’s the trail we use all the time and that would be the trail I would take my son down there and having the ants fall on top of him and getting bit up, that’d be a big concern for me. I wouldn’t want that happening.

Well, some landscaper came and you know, landscaped the property down below here and two fire ants were in that particular plant and now we have a colony. It’s really bothered us and so I asked that question. How and why, where did this fire ant come from?

Historically, the little fire ant arrived to Kaua’i in 1999 on a shipment of palms. So the original infestation was only about five acres. It was believed to be eradicated, but what had actually happened was that it was brought to undetectable levels. And unfortunately now it’s about twelve to fifteen acres. Without Department of Ag’s containing it on that edge, it would have spread across that property and on to the next one. It would be devastating to have it infest this area, one of the nicest beaches on Kaua’i.

Farming is woven into Hawai’i’s history and is key to a sustainable future. Healthy are a critical component of farming. The pollination of crops, honey production, and Hawai’i’s Queen Bee industry face a new threat.

The bee industry is important wherever you are. All our hives have succumbed to LFA because LFA is a protein eater and the larval stage of the bees are very susceptible. If you have LFA and they’re close to your hive and they can get up and into that hive, they’ll probably take your hive down. I think it’s much more dangerous than the varroa mite.

Both local and export agriculture and our hopes for food security are at risk because of the little fire ant. In addition to stinging agricultural workers, little fire ants can weaken plants by farming insects like aphids and mealy bugs.

Those insects secrete a sugary substance that the ants use as a source of energy. So the ants have a huge source of energy that allows them expand and grow and farm yet more mealy bugs and scale insects which makes the plant sicker and sicker. That decline in health could result in quite substantial crop losses.

I grow macadamia nuts, coffee. I have lychee, mangosteen, orchids. Just a little bit of everything. A diversified crop farm.

I was going to grow four to eight acres of palms for hearts of palm, a couple acres bamboo nursery. So by the time we discovered them, we had millions and millions and millions. The palms are not harvestable because of the ants. I’m out of business. Totally. Little fire ant.

Now I have fire ants in my lychee crop. You’re in there with the panicles and you’re trying to grab your lychee and cut it and all that. You get them on you. I watched them as they were shaking all these ants off of them. And basically it was raining ants. Raining fire ants on them from the lychee.

The cost of trying to actually control fifteen acres when there are literally, you can ask Cas, but I’m sure hundreds of thousands in one tree. And finding people willing to work in the orchard is extremely difficult. I really think that this is the most devastating invasive that we have.

When I heard about the little fire ant I was really appalled and really scared. We’d be in very big trouble if it came into our coffee lands. We harvest off the tree and these branches are always leaning over us. Harvesting anything from a tree is going to be very, very, very difficult. And it will greatly impact agriculture. I mean, agriculture as we know it will not be here.

Wearing my hat as the chair of the board of agriculture, I see little fire ant as being a very significant threat. We need to address this quickly.

When you look at our mandate, what is it to do? It’s not just to protect agriculture, it’s not just to protect the environment, it is to protect the native biota, it’s to protect the public health. We can’t do it all. And that is very frustrating. It’s hard choices. It’s choosing between snakes or between, do we look at all the fish coming in because they may have pirahnas in them. Or do we look about what we’re not doing now which is the weedy plants. We’re so dependent on food, imported food, that we can’t let our stores or restaurants go empty. So we’re forced to get it out. Whether or not there are pests on them, we’re forced to get them out. We still get a sampling of interceptions. You know things are getting through and now what do we do from here.

So invasive species and the little fire ant in particular are very problematic because they will inhibit, I think, agricultural expansion.

So I think, it is impacting our growers. I think they’re finding that the ant is moving and where they didn’t have a problem a couple years ago, I think everyone is concerned this pest is moving from area to area and how do you deal with it. I think that’s the difficulty with this. It’s the size of the pest. This particular one is so small that you really have to look for it. Because we’re already considered a high risk pathway for the spreading of pests to the continental US, the presence of little fire ant in these nursery shipments or these flower shipments has heightened the concern that it will cause a California embargo.

California’s gotten very, very restrictive in terms of what we can export from Hawaii to their markets. So they’re, you know, they’re really kind of on the verge of closing us down.

If they find out that they cannot export their crop. Or, or sell it, at all. I think they’ll be very concerned. But because most people don’t have it, or haven’t been stung, bitten, they don’t know the effect. they don’t know that this is a very serious insect.

Because our islands are connected, you have to have real, meaningful, ongoing inspection, detection, reporting capabilities, because without that we will get it. It will become established and it will spread in the Pacific.

The ant is essentially gonna be, is here to stay on the Big Island and that’s just the reality and what we’re gonna be doing is mitigating effects, essentially forever. What we need is a good detection network so we can respond quickly and eradicate it before LFA gets a good foothold.

To do that we need more support for our inspectors. We need more inspectors. We need sniffer dogs, dog detectors and handlers. We need to have the industry, the shipping industry to be involved and supportive. We need to stop [the ants] from moving between islands. And that’s why it’s so important for people everywhere to become aware of what it looks like, what it does, how to report it, and to demand the tools and the resources to address it when it does become established. We need support from our legislators, our elected officials, county officials, federal officials, and we need everyone to be involved.

There’s on thing that that little ant really loves, and it’s peanut butter.

So you take a chopstick and thinly coat it with peanut butter on one end and lay it in the areas where you think you might have little fire ant. Be it a potted plant you’re bringing onto your property or a banana tree you’ve already planted or a palm you’ve already planted, they really do like moisture. It’s really not difficult, at all. Within forty five minutes, the sticks will have the little fire ant on them. They’re very small, but you should be able to see them. And of course if you do find them, you want to put that little stick in a plastic bag, freeze it to kill it, and then send it to the Department of Agriculture so that they can make a positive ID because there actually are quite a few stinging ants on the islands and they’re only able to actually positively ID them with a microscope.

We need for people to understand just how serious this problem is and to ask, demand, support action to stop it now while we still have a chance.

http://www.LFA-Hawaii.org/

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Invasion: Little Fire Ants in Hawai’i [video & transcription]

http://www.LFA-Hawaii.org/

http://www.LFA-Hawaii.org/

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