Maui Invasive Species Committee (MISC)

Plant Crew – September 2020

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Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death response:

  • In response to community reports, Mike Ade collected two samples for possible Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death: one in August at Kalama Middle School in Makawao and another in early September from a  residence in Wailuku. Both samples were sent to the Hilo USDA/ARS Lab through HDOA Maui Plant Quarantine staff.
Help protect ʻōhiʻa. Clear gear before going in the forest and report any ʻōhiʻa tree showing symptoms of Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death: sudden browning and death with leaves “frozen” in place.

No Ceratocystis, the fungal pathogen that causes Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death,  was detected at the Kalama School location, results are not yet back from the September sample.

Hāna – based Miconia Crew:

  • The crew surveyed for and removed miconia plants along the Hāna Highway and set up a trail system from Makapipi to the Puaʻa Kaʻa and Upper Nāhiku area.
  • In response to public reports, they surveyed and controlled miconia plants in Lower Nāhiku, Keʻanae, and Kīpahulu
  • Aja Early caught a calling coqui in a kalo loʻi at Wailuanui.

Makawao – based plant crew:

A community report led to the detection and removal of a pampas grass in Kula.
  • The crew has been hiking through Haleakalā Ranch, Polipoli, and Kaʻonoʻula Ranch controlling pampas grass plants found by aerial helicopter surveys. 
  • For three weeks in August, the crew flew West Maui by helicopter, surveying for and controlling pampas grass. Weather sometimes causes delays and so helicopter surveys on East Maui are a backup option.
  • A homeowner reported a flowering pampas grass in Kula and the crew immediately responded and removed the plant.
  • The latest re-visit to the Puʻu o Kali fountain grass infestation site led to the detection and removal of six plants (one mature with dispersed seed heads). This is the only known fountain grass infestation remaining though the crew continues to follow up at other sites to monitor for seedling recruitment.
  • Along the north shore near Waiheʻe, the crew has been surveying and controlling ivy gourd in the coastal strand and golf course areas. Visits to residential sites known to have ivy gourd are on standby due to Covid-19 restrictions for staff public engagement.

September Updates on other species here:

Plant Crew – September 2020
Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death response: In response to community reports, Mike Ade collected two samples for possible Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death: one ...
Read More
Molokai/Maui Invasive Species Committee -September 2020
Removing upside-down jellyfish from Kaunakakai harbor sometimes takes partners, as when DLNR divers helped out several years ago. The Molokai ...
Read More
Coqui Crew – September 2020
From July through September, the coqui crew worked throughout Haʻikū on populations of frogs near the Kauhikoa Reservoir, the Five ...
Read More
Community Coqui Control Progam – September 2020
All four of the Haʻikū neighborhoods involved in the MISC Community Coqui Control Program held work weeks during August. One ...
Read More
Early Detection, Outreach, and Education – September 2020
Early Detection:No news is good news, at least from the early detection team. Forest and Kim Starr surveyed the Kahului ...
Read More
Little Fire Ant Crew – September 2020
Little fire ants can climb and so can our crew. Paul Moneymaker scales a steep hillside while surveying for little ...
Read More

All Updates

Molokai/Maui Invasive Species Committee -September 2020

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Removing upside-down jellyfish from Kaunakakai harbor sometimes takes partners, as when DLNR divers helped out several years ago.

The Molokai Crew at MoMISC has been working hard to continue their surveys for early detection species including little fire ants and coconut rhinoceros beetle. Target species, rubbervine and Barbados gooseberry are on the brink of eradication with only seedlings found on recent visits.

Early Detection

  • Wasmannia auropunctata (little fire ants): The crew conducted LFA surveys at various ports of entry including the Kamalō and Kaunakakai Harbor areas and the Pukoʻo beach access, a port of entry commonly used for inter-island commuting by resident boaters. 
  • Oryctes rhinoceros (coconut rhinoceros beetle): MoMISC crew actively monitors and maintains coconut rhinoceros beetle traps at the Hoʻolehua Airport. So far, so good! No beetles were captured in traps or reported by the public. 

Priority Species- 

  • Prosopis juliflora (long thorn kiawe): The MoMISC crew has been actively controlling the long thorn kiawe population along the remote southwest coast of Molokai. With landowner consent, the crew was able to access existing control sites where they continue to find and control new growth.
  • Cryptostegia Madagascariensis (rubbervine): Past and current efforts of aggressive survey and control of this species have been successful in managing and containing the spread. Crew frequently returns to past control sites to inspect for new growth and recently surveyed a swath of the southeast coastline for potential spread. In the second quarter of 2020, a total of 129 acres were surveyed and just 3 immature plants were found at an old control site! 
  • Cyathea Cooperi (Australian Tree Fern): In cooperation with DOFAW, the MoMISC crew surveyed 138 acres for ATF in the North Central forest area on Molokai, controlling a total of 79 ferns. 
  • Cassiopea Andromeda (Upside Down Jellyfish): This pest species is found at several sites along the south and south/east coast of Molokai. MoMISC routinely surveys and controls this stinging pest species at the Kaunakakai Harbor, an area of high recreational use by residents and a popular swimming area for kids. In the second quarter of 2020, 7 acres were surveyed and 31 jellyfish were controlled. 
  • Pereskia aculeata (Barbados gooseberry): The crew spent two days in Hālawa Valley revisiting control sites and surveying surrounding areas. This species appears to be under control with only one juvenile being found at an old site. 

Learn more about the Molokai/Maui Invasive Species Committee on their website: molokaiisc.org.

September Updates on other species here:

Plant Crew – September 2020
Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death response: In response to community reports, Mike Ade collected two samples for possible Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death: one ...
Read More
Molokai/Maui Invasive Species Committee -September 2020
Removing upside-down jellyfish from Kaunakakai harbor sometimes takes partners, as when DLNR divers helped out several years ago. The Molokai ...
Read More
Coqui Crew – September 2020
From July through September, the coqui crew worked throughout Haʻikū on populations of frogs near the Kauhikoa Reservoir, the Five ...
Read More
Community Coqui Control Progam – September 2020
All four of the Haʻikū neighborhoods involved in the MISC Community Coqui Control Program held work weeks during August. One ...
Read More
Early Detection, Outreach, and Education – September 2020
Early Detection:No news is good news, at least from the early detection team. Forest and Kim Starr surveyed the Kahului ...
Read More
Little Fire Ant Crew – September 2020
Little fire ants can climb and so can our crew. Paul Moneymaker scales a steep hillside while surveying for little ...
Read More

All Updates

Coqui Crew – September 2020

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From July through September, the coqui crew worked throughout Haʻikū on populations of frogs near the Kauhikoa Reservoir, the Five Corners area, Kaluanui, Kauhikoa Gulch, and West Kuiaha resulting in a dramatic reduction in coqui in these areas. Interns from American Conservation Experience helped tackle an outlying population near Pe‘ahi in Haʻikū.  The crew followed up on reports and removed frogs in Makawao and Huelo as well. Community reports help us to find these new frog populations. Please keep reporting!  mauiinvasive.org/coqui-frog/got-coqui/

Aja Early, formerly a coqui crew leader and currently part of the MISC miconia crew, captured a single calling frog in a kalo loʻi in Wailuaui near Keʻanae, protecting east Maui from coqui. Citric acid pipeline infrastructure improvements, habitat modification, and citric acid sprays are ongoing with dedicated and integrated training time to inform decisions made in the field by our newer members on the team. 

MISC’s coqui crew welcomed five new crew members in August bringing the coqui field crew to 14. In September, three more crew members started work bringing the crew to 17. The experienced staff, especially Darrell Aquino and Scott Winter, have done an excellent job of sharing their knowledge, experience, and perspectives with everyone on the team. In September, the MISC field crew was supplemented with 11 experienced field interns from A.C.E., American Conservation Experience. MISC is still looking for people who feel drawn to this type of work and we are currently accepting applications for field crew. Follow MISC on Facebook or Instagram for updates on these positions.

A system of PVC pipeline delivers citric throughout a gulch. Crew work along stations, plugging in fire hose and spraying the walls of the gulch.

Updates on other species here:

Plant Crew – September 2020
Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death response: In response to community reports, Mike Ade collected two samples for possible Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death: one ...
Read More
Molokai/Maui Invasive Species Committee -September 2020
Removing upside-down jellyfish from Kaunakakai harbor sometimes takes partners, as when DLNR divers helped out several years ago. The Molokai ...
Read More
Coqui Crew – September 2020
From July through September, the coqui crew worked throughout Haʻikū on populations of frogs near the Kauhikoa Reservoir, the Five ...
Read More
Community Coqui Control Progam – September 2020
All four of the Haʻikū neighborhoods involved in the MISC Community Coqui Control Program held work weeks during August. One ...
Read More
Early Detection, Outreach, and Education – September 2020
Early Detection:No news is good news, at least from the early detection team. Forest and Kim Starr surveyed the Kahului ...
Read More
Little Fire Ant Crew – September 2020
Little fire ants can climb and so can our crew. Paul Moneymaker scales a steep hillside while surveying for little ...
Read More

All Updates

Community Coqui Control Progam – September 2020

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All four of the Haʻikū neighborhoods involved in the MISC Community Coqui Control Program held work weeks during August. One of the communities, Haʻikū Mauka, had record participation: the community worked together to treat half the properties in the neighborhood and collectively contributed 24 hours of effort helping each other remove coqui frogs. 

In the Lower Kokomo neighborhood, more residents learned how to operate the citric acid pipeline that is installed in their neighborhood gulch, further empowering them to keep the coqui frogs out of their backyards! 

Haʻikū residents work together to bring back quiet nights to their neighborhoods.

The MISC Community Coqui Control team held the first  Virtual Block Party with the Lower Kokomo neighborhood. MISC staff presented results of their neighborhood effort over the first year and discussed future plans for the program. The highlight was that the community reported hearing fewer coqui frogs in the neighborhood since the program began! MISC plans to hold Virtual Block Parties with each of the neighborhoods we currently work in before the end of the year. 

MISC will continue community spray weeks on a  6-week rotation through the fall. To further empower local residents to control coqui frogs in their own yards  MISC is offering small, in-person training sessions to learn how to use the equipment available from our community loan program. Community members with coqui frogs in their yards are encouraged to recruit a few neighbors and contact Susan (skfrett@hawaii.edu or 808-633-6646) to sign up for this training opportunity. Participants will learn how to use different sized sprayers, mix the correct percentage of citric acid solution, safely treat their yards and clean the equipment.  Any efforts that community members can take to control coqui frogs in their own yards frees up the MISC coqui crew to work in the gulches and other challenging locations.

September Updates on other species here:

Plant Crew – September 2020
Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death response: In response to community reports, Mike Ade collected two samples for possible Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death: one ...
Read More
Molokai/Maui Invasive Species Committee -September 2020
Removing upside-down jellyfish from Kaunakakai harbor sometimes takes partners, as when DLNR divers helped out several years ago. The Molokai ...
Read More
Coqui Crew – September 2020
From July through September, the coqui crew worked throughout Haʻikū on populations of frogs near the Kauhikoa Reservoir, the Five ...
Read More
Community Coqui Control Progam – September 2020
All four of the Haʻikū neighborhoods involved in the MISC Community Coqui Control Program held work weeks during August. One ...
Read More
Early Detection, Outreach, and Education – September 2020
Early Detection:No news is good news, at least from the early detection team. Forest and Kim Starr surveyed the Kahului ...
Read More
Little Fire Ant Crew – September 2020
Little fire ants can climb and so can our crew. Paul Moneymaker scales a steep hillside while surveying for little ...
Read More

All Updates

Early Detection, Outreach, and Education – September 2020

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Early Detection:
No news is good news, at least from the early detection team. Forest and Kim Starr surveyed the Kahului Airport every two weeks as part of the Māmalu Poepoe Project, a statewide interagency collaboration to monitor ports of entry for invasive species.They check for coconut rhinoceros beetles, Africanized honey bees, and invasive ants like little fire ants and red imported fire ants. Fortunately, they did not find anything of concern. You can read more about the project here: Māmalu Poepoe Project Traps and Monitors for Invasive Pests.

Forest Starr surveying for naio thrips. Photo credit – Kim Starr

Additionally, the pair surveyed for but did not find any evidence of naio thrip, an invasive sap-sucking insect that attacks native naio plants. Find out how to help protect naio here: https://www.oahuisc.org/naio-thrips/

Outreach and Education:

During the late summer quarter, July through September, staff continued with virtual outreach and preparations for the fall. In August, outreach staff worked with the statewide team raising awareness around Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death to record a series of island-specific training on biosanitation (cleaning gear and equipment to remove invasive species). This training will be distributed by the ROD outreach team. 

MISC staff published an article in the Maui News on planting native plants to mitigate wildfire risk in July and the impact of rats on the loulu palm populations throughout Hawai’i in August. The featured article in September gave an overview of recent research on the impacts of miconia. These articles and others can be viewed here: Invasive Species Articles

Upcoming Events

Virtual and socially distancing events are in the works for October including Spot the Ant, Stop the Ant month, an awareness campaign for little fire ants, and two sessions as part of the Maui Mauka Conservation Awareness Training. October 13th features Jenni Learned from the Maui Nui Seabird Recovery Project and October 19th will highlight the work of Keahi Bustamente on endangered invertebrates. 

  • October (all month): Stop the Ant awareness month. The invasive species committees throughout the state are asking for your help in finding the little fire ant. Join in!: 
    • Follow and share on social media through MISC (Facebook and/or Instagram) and the Stop the Ant group (Facebook)
    • Collect ants from your yard and send them to MISC. All it takes is a little peanut butter and you can help find the ant before it finds you. For more information, visit: http://stoptheant.org/
  • October 16th: Deadline for nominations for the Mālama i ka ʻĀina Award: This annual award, sponsored by the Maui Association of Landscape Professionals, County of Maui, and MISC,  recognizes the proactive efforts of those in the landscape community in preventing the spread of invasive species on Maui County. Submit your nominations here: Mālama i ka ʻĀina Award
  • October 13 and  October 19: Maui Mauka Conservation Awareness Training. Learn more about ongoing conservation efforts in a virtual, socially distanced, online training. The core presentation covers the natural history of Hawai’i, the importance of the rainforest to the watershed, efforts to protect native birds, and invasive species threats. Guest presenters rotate; October 13th will be Jenni Learned from the Maui Nui Seabird Recovery Project October 19th will be Keahi Bustamente, a field biologist with the Department of Land and Natural Resources – Division of Forestry and Wildlife, specializing in native snails. If you are interested in attending one of these trainings, sign up today: mauimauka.org

September Updates on other species here:

Plant Crew – September 2020
Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death response: In response to community reports, Mike Ade collected two samples for possible Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death: one ...
Read More
Molokai/Maui Invasive Species Committee -September 2020
Removing upside-down jellyfish from Kaunakakai harbor sometimes takes partners, as when DLNR divers helped out several years ago. The Molokai ...
Read More
Coqui Crew – September 2020
From July through September, the coqui crew worked throughout Haʻikū on populations of frogs near the Kauhikoa Reservoir, the Five ...
Read More
Community Coqui Control Progam – September 2020
All four of the Haʻikū neighborhoods involved in the MISC Community Coqui Control Program held work weeks during August. One ...
Read More
Early Detection, Outreach, and Education – September 2020
Early Detection:No news is good news, at least from the early detection team. Forest and Kim Starr surveyed the Kahului ...
Read More
Little Fire Ant Crew – September 2020
Little fire ants can climb and so can our crew. Paul Moneymaker scales a steep hillside while surveying for little ...
Read More

All Updates

Little Fire Ant Crew – September 2020

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Little fire ants can climb and so can our crew. Paul Moneymaker scales a steep hillside while surveying for little fire ants. MISC file photo

The community contacted us with 22 reports of suspected little fire ants since July and our crew continues to follow up on reports of stinging ants and survey new locations but, despite collective efforts to find them, no new infestations of little fire ants have been discovered on Maui . This allowed MISC’s LFA crew to focus on stamping out the handful of active infestations on the island and to continue their monitoring of the rest.  

In Happy Valley, there was only one positive sample out of 500 collected. This means the site moves into a spot treatment approach after one year of regular treatments. 

  

Nearly 7,000 vials baited with peanut butter were deployed over the past 90 days in our never-ending quest to seek out and destroy these unwelcome beasts.  On the Hāna side, crewmember Joe Brower keeps his experienced expert eye on things at the two infestations on that side of the island.  This includes the aerial work that continues at Nāhiku where the ninth such treatment is scheduled for mid-September. 

  • The view from the helicopter during a treatment of the LFA infestation in Nāhiku.

The Makawao-based crew led by Monte Tudor-Long, with Mikiʻala Puaʻa-Freitas, Betsy Black, and intern Paul Moneymaker, continue to execute the work at Maui’s two most recently discovered large sites: the 8+ acre infestations at Waiheʻe Valley and Twin Falls, with full-site treatments at both locations scheduled to wrap up in mid-October.  At that point, years of intensive monitoring will begin in order to ensure the ants are truly gone.  We are grateful to James Fleming and Raynette Inouye of the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture for their generous assistance at these and other LFA sites on Maui.  

Current status of infestations on Maui and date detected: 

October is the annual “Spot the Ant, Stop the Ant” campaign encouraging people to test around their homes for little fire ants. Follow the “Stop the Ant” page on Facebook and Instagram. Join in and submit ants from your yard: Collect and Submit Ants

Actively treating:

Nāhiku little fire ant treatments.
  1. Lahainaluna High School (2020)
  2. Twin Falls (2019)
  3. Waiheʻe Valley (2019)
  4. Happy Valley (2019)
  5. Kaʻelekū (2017)
  6. Nāhiku (2014)
  7. Huelo (2015)

Monitoring:

8. Kapalua Resort (2016)
9. Haʻikū (2015)
10. South Maui Nursery (2017)
11. South Maui Resort (2014)
12. Waiheʻe farm (2009)
16.  South Maui Nursery Hapuʻu (2014)

September Updates on other species here:

Plant Crew – September 2020
Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death response: In response to community reports, Mike Ade collected two samples for possible Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death: one ...
Read More
Molokai/Maui Invasive Species Committee -September 2020
Removing upside-down jellyfish from Kaunakakai harbor sometimes takes partners, as when DLNR divers helped out several years ago. The Molokai ...
Read More
Coqui Crew – September 2020
From July through September, the coqui crew worked throughout Haʻikū on populations of frogs near the Kauhikoa Reservoir, the Five ...
Read More
Community Coqui Control Progam – September 2020
All four of the Haʻikū neighborhoods involved in the MISC Community Coqui Control Program held work weeks during August. One ...
Read More
Early Detection, Outreach, and Education – September 2020
Early Detection:No news is good news, at least from the early detection team. Forest and Kim Starr surveyed the Kahului ...
Read More
Little Fire Ant Crew – September 2020
Little fire ants can climb and so can our crew. Paul Moneymaker scales a steep hillside while surveying for little ...
Read More

All Updates

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Contact Us

Maui Invasive Species Committee (MISC)
Office: (808) 573-6472
Press and Media Inquiries: (808) 344-2756
Mailing Address:
PO Box 983, Makawao, HI 96768

Acting Manager: Teya Penniman
E-mail: miscmgr@hawaii.edu

PR/Outreach: Lissa Strohecker
E-mail: miscpr@hawaii.edu

Statewide Pest Hotline: 808-643-PEST
Report a Pest Online