Coconut rhinoceros beetle

[WaianaeCrider]

I have two royals that have been in the ground around 22 years.  I treated the first today for Coconut rhinoceros beetle prevention (I hope). with Imicide capsules containing 3 mg each.  Hope I drilled deep enough for the liquid to get absorbed and taken up to the crown.  Will probably do the next tomorrow as I'm fighting a hernia and bending over hurts.  The cost for 24 capsules was $175.95 plus tax.  I have 7 pritchardias which will also need treatment.  At this price I sure hope I save these.  There are at least 16 more large palms, 22 year old palms but so far I don't see damage

The one on the right is a Roystonea regia and the one on the left is Roystonea oleracea.

 

[Cindy Adair]

I have not seen this capsule treatment.
 

How long is it supposed to take to work and how long is it supposed to last? 

I walked around some of my PR property today with a friend who also collects palms here and we traded stories of palms we have lost (and looked at some survivors as well) of the ox rhino beetle which also is killed by imidocloprid but applied to the dirt around the palms.

I am guessing smaller palms might use smaller numbers of the capsules? 
 

I wish you all the best saving your treasures.

[WaianaeCrider]

11 minutes ago, Cindy Adair said:

I have not seen this capsule treatment.
 

How long is it supposed to take to work and how long is it supposed to last? 

I walked around some of my PR property today with a friend who also collects palms here and we traded stories of palms we have lost (and looked at some survivors as well) of the ox rhino beetle which also is killed by imidocloprid but applied to the dirt around the palms.

I am guessing smaller palms might use smaller numbers of the capsules? 
 

I wish you all the best saving your treasures.

Not sure how long.  Probably months to work it's way up 20 feet.  Directions are at chest high measure circumference and divide by 6.  That's how many units are needed.

There is a liquid that can be sprayed up into the crown if you can reach the crown.  I also have a 1/2 % powder that I'm putting on the ground and needs to be watered in.

Hope something works.

Mahalo for the wishes.

[Cindy Adair]

Thank you! 

[WaianaeCrider]

Managed to get the second Royal done the next day.  Then Pritchardia thurstonii and P. schattalleri .  Used up the 24 units in the pack.  Funny about P. schattalleri  (it was sold as the  26 years ago) is it's my slowest growing Pritchardia.  So me thinks it's something else.  Has yet to flower.  I think the guy that ran that nursery on the big island back then wandered around botanical gardens picking up seeds that may have been cross pollinated.  All my Pritchardias might be hybreds.  LOL  But they are all different and beautiful palms.

Walking w/this hernia is painful and I won't  be doing the others til I'm healed and I don't even get to "talk" to a surgeon for a week.  LOL 

[Patrick]

On 4/23/2024 at 1:26 PM, WaianaeCrider said:

Managed to get the second Royal done the next day.  Then Pritchardia thurstonii and P. schattalleri .  Used up the 24 units in the pack.  Funny about P. schattalleri  (it was sold as the  26 years ago) is it's my slowest growing Pritchardia.  So me thinks it's something else.  Has yet to flower.  I think the guy that ran that nursery on the big island back then wandered around botanical gardens picking up seeds that may have been cross pollinated.  All my Pritchardias might be hybreds.  LOL  But they are all different and beautiful palms.

Walking w/this hernia is painful and I won't  be doing the others til I'm healed and I don't even get to "talk" to a surgeon for a week.  LOL 

Has this pest always been around the islands or is this something that recently 'slipped through'? Here's hoping the treatments work for you!

[WaianaeCrider]

On 4/24/2024 at 10:52 AM, Patrick said:

Has this pest always been around the islands or is this something that recently 'slipped through'? Here's hoping the treatments work for you!

I believe the first ones arrived in 2013 on an AirForce plane.  Not on purpose of course.

[WaianaeCrider]

Pretty sure this as a Coccothrinax.  Did not plant it.  It just popped up years ago near a repotting table.  Just noticed it looks like CRB attacked.  Hard to get a good picture. Drilled and added 3 of the "magic liquid" capsules that is supposed to kill them.  All that depends on if I really reached the layer that will absorb the poison and bring it to the top of the tree's growth zine.

About 25 feet away is one of my favorite palms Pseudophoenix vinifera.  No damage yet but I decided to give it some help. It's about 20 years old.

 

[WaianaeCrider]

I've been down for about 3 months w/Shingles and a possable hernia.  Can't get out much to see the palms.  Spotted this the other day and got some spray from a friend.  Hope I don't lose these two  double trunked JubaeopsisCaffra.

If you are on O`ahu you'd better check every palm not just the ones the State says the CRB will attack. They may  also be in one  Livistonia which is low enough to get so me liquid into the crown.

Probably wil hit every day for a few days and hope I get them.  But I gotta feeing I'm gonna lose A LOT of palms to these guys.  Grrrrrr

 

[Kim]

That freaks me out... the Coconut rhinoceros beetle recently has been found on the Big Island too, over in Waikoloa area. I guess it was only a matter of time. The county has announced a plan for education. I didn't see anything about treatment, so this post is valuable, thanks for sharing.

Good luck and I hope the treatment is successful. How often would you expect to have to repeat it? Did your royal palms show signs of infestation?

Sorry to hear about the medical issues, hope your recovery is progressing.

[WaianaeCrider]

3 hours ago, Kim said:

That freaks me out... the Coconut rhinoceros beetle recently has been found on the Big Island too, over in Waikoloa area. I guess it was only a matter of time. The county has announced a plan for education. I didn't see anything about treatment, so this post is valuable, thanks for sharing.

Good luck and I hope the treatment is successful. How often would you expect to have to repeat it? Did your royal palms show signs of infestation?

Sorry to hear about the medical issues, hope your recovery is progressing.

Hope the "county" does MORE than the "state and county" did here on O`ahu.  Pretty much they did nothing but put up traps to see where they were at but did nothing to stop the spread.  Still not saying much more than "don't  us mulch".

[happypalms]

That’s definitely a problem you have with the the beetle I can’t imagine growing such great palms only to have a beetle kill them 20 years later now I know why Australia has such bio security measures I can relate to your hernia situation having 4 operations myself for a double hernia I hope your recovery goes well the mind can beat pain 🌱

[Cindy Adair]

I can relate to all three of your issues having had shingles and hernia repair in the past plus for years battling the ground level attacking (and to me identical looking) rhino beetle here in Puerto Rico. 
 

We can only hope that HI does not get the ox rhino and that PR doesn’t get the CRB.

That double whammy would really be disastrous!

 

[WaianaeCrider]

Three more palms w/damage. 2 small Licuala grandis and one 20 + year old Copernicia berteroana

Bought 2 traps today in Waimanalo. Will check in the morning.

[Kim]

This is so rapid and frightening. 

[palmfriend]

Those pictures of damaged palms are hurting. I am afraid the islands of Hawaii are an almost perfect 

breeding ground for those beetles.

At this time over here I find these holes on almost every palm in my garden - sometimes I flood the entry point with

a lot of water or spray it with some insecticide and tape it afterwards to keep the "gas" inside.

It is very frustrating, loosing palms because of this!

Alexander and Veitchia palms usually survive the attacks because of their speed of growth, other ones like coconut palms 

are struggling and need a lot of care. 

I really hope those measures (injection/traps) are going to be helpful!

 

Lars

 

 

[WaianaeCrider]

On 5/21/2024 at 6:06 PM, WaianaeCrider said:

Three more palms w/damage. 2 small Licuala grandis and one 20 + year old Copernicia berteroana

Bought 2 traps today in Waimanalo. Will check in the morning.

Almost a month.  Caught 3 in the first trap and 2 in the second in like 3 1/2 weeks

Also I think they may be in my Roystonea oleracea.  That new frond w/leaflets showing part way down don't look quite right.

[Cindy Adair]

Do you know anything about a soap based product applied to soil every 6-12 months, previously marketed as a systemic against palm weevils?
 

Now I see something about the company claiming it works against CRB. 
 

Seems way too good to be true…

 

 

[D. Morrowii]

On 6/19/2024 at 1:48 AM, WaianaeCrider said:

Almost a month.  Caught 3 in the first trap and 2 in the second in like 3 1/2 weeks

Also I think they may be in my Roystonea oleracea.  That new frond w/leaflets showing part way down don't look quite right.

Oh man this is awful. I hope you are able to find a way to control them. 

[WaianaeCrider]

8 hours ago, D. Morrowii said:

Oh man this is awful. I hope you are able to find a way to control them. 

From what I've heard the State's written O`ahu off already.  Doubt they can be controlled w/o THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS of people fighting along w/funding from the State.  Can you imagine Hawai`i w/o palm trees?

[WaianaeCrider]

On 6/18/2024 at 7:48 PM, WaianaeCrider said:

Almost a month.  Caught 3 in the first trap and 2 in the second in like 3 1/2 weeks

Also I think they may be in my Roystonea oleracea.  That new frond w/leaflets showing part way down don't look quite right.

THE frond on this Royal opened the other day and it looks good.  Hope the poison is working.  I now have a total of 4 of the traps hanging and have caught a total  of 13  in a month and a half.  Not seeing any new damage so maybe they working.  

 

 

 

[realarch]

Steve, SOBERING to say the least. The alarm bells here seem to be getting louder and louder. 

We may be picking your brain for preventive and remedial solutions in the near future. A friend of mine was explaining to me the protocol the state has come up with as a treatment, it was so complicated and cumbersome I can’t imagine it being successful. Please don’t ask me what the steps were, I can’t even remember, my mind froze up.

The leadership of our local Palm Society has provided, at no cost, the traps needed to track the spread. A big ‘thank you’ for that. Until then we’ll wait for, hopefully, a more practical follow up once the waiting is over and the damage becomes more wide spread in our area.

Hope your feeling and moving around better these days!

Tim

[WaianaeCrider]

Some organization on O`ahu is expanded from 3 to 13 traps like that in Makaha Valley.  There are no palms in miles and yet they are catching CRB's.  I guess they like the forest litter.  Be careful using mulch.  They like to lay their eggs there.  There are also some piles of branches w/a small opening netting over the piles w/a lure inside.  Yesterday while hiking deep in the valley I saw one beetle caught in one.  It was still alive so I killed it w/my walking stick.   The picture was taken a few weeks ago so no beetle to show.

[WaianaeCrider]

Five days into the month and I've caught 9 beetles.  Only 3 of my 4 traps are catching so I moved the one not working to a new location, 

Haven't used any insecticide this month hoping the traps are enough to keep them from attacking anything.

 

Ok what does this message mean?  It's an MP4 file 18 MBs.   Ok here's a still

[WaianaeCrider]

On 6/20/2024 at 1:11 PM, Cindy Adair said:

Do you know anything about a soap based product applied to soil every 6-12 months, previously marketed as a systemic against palm weevils?
 

Now I see something about the company claiming it works against CRB. 
 

Seems way too good to be true…

 

 

First I've heard of this one.

 

[WaianaeCrider]

Did my weekly check on my 4 traps.  Caught 4 this week and 4 last week.  Gotta head to Waimanalo this weekend to get fresh bate.

About 2 weeks ago found them in my Hyphaene coriacea.  Did some spraying then and last week.  Hope that kills them.

Just picked up a 30 lb bag of 0.05% Imidacloprid to spread around the base of my palms.  Biggest problem is it's gonna kill the bees that love my palm flowers.  Bag cost $45 and has to be reapplied every 3 months.

[WaianaeCrider]

Weekly CRB Report

Not a single beetle in any of the 4 traps.  Maybe I'm making a dent in the local population.  Of course the feral chicken now in the yard might be helping w/the grubs.

[Cindy Adair]

Good news is good news no matter the reason. 
 

FYI I contacted the seller of many of the lures used for CRB to ask if the scent might be the same for my nemesis Strategus aloeus (the ox rhino). I was told that I would need a different scent that his company does not offer. He is however helping me to locate options. 
 

Too many losses here, but likely damage will slow as rain lessens. Ox beetles dig and they prefer softer soil apparently. 
 

Are CRB attacks more prevalent certain times of the year?

[WaianaeCrider]

Checked the four traps again.  ZERO beetles.

Either the traps working or the feral chicken digging up larve are working or both.

Three Pritchardias that showed damage are putting up new healthy fronds.

But now I think I see damage to a very tall Syagrus sancona.  Will have to wait for the frond to open to be sure.  Scattered some insecticide around about 1/2 of my palms to be absorbed from the ground up to the crowns.

[WaianaeCrider]

Weekly CRB count

Zero for the 3rd week. Total of 8 for the month. 3 weeks in a row no beetles. Total of 79 for the year. No count for 3 weeks now.

Either Traps made a big dent or feral chickens helping out.

[WaianaeCrider]

About a week late.

Zero in the traps as of Sat Nov 9th.  That makes 3 weeks in a row w/no catches. 

[Palm Tree Jim]

5 hours ago, WaianaeCrider said:

About a week late.

Zero in the traps as of Sat Nov 9th.  That makes 3 weeks in a row w/no catches. 

Great to hear that you have been successful in controlling them.

[WaianaeCrider]

12 hours ago, Palm Tree Jim said:

Great to hear that you have been successful in controlling them.

Wish I knew if it was the traps or the one lone feral chicken.  LOL

Another report tomorrow if I get off my butt and walk around.  LOL 

[WaianaeCrider]

Zero again as of yesterday's check (Nov 16).

Spotted what might be damage on a new frond yet to open on my 24 year old Syagrus Sancona.  It's very tall and hard to see the top.  Spotted a "mark" from bath room window.  So today I gave it an "injection"

since I can't upload photos from computer I'm gonna try from my phone.  Wish me good luck.  LOL 

[WaianaeCrider]

Nov. 17th. Checked traps yesterday.  Again 0 count.  

I have a 24 year old Syagrus sanctuary that so tall it's hard to look for CRB damage.   Can fairly see top from bathroom window.  Looks like might have damage 1/2 way down new frond. So gave it a "dose".  Hope it works. 

[Cindy Adair]

Thanks so much for the updates! I received two of the same traps you have a couple of days ago and here’s one just hanging on my porch for now. 

 

I can reach out to Alphascents but as you are using them on rhinos I thought I would ask you first.

First, how high off the ground should I hang mine? 
 

Next, how did you pick a location?

 

Do I really just hang the lure without an obvious opening for the liquid?
 

The package says not to open the bulb. How can that be?


 

I realize that the chemical in my lure is different as the seller custom made it. But does your lure come in the same plastic bulb?

Do I put something into the plastic bucket sort of thing at the bottom to keep the beetles from leaving?

As you can see I am clueless about all this so any help appreciated. 

I want to have the same good results you have had catching these critters!

Thanks!

[realarch]

Cindy, I just chose a spot that was in a clearing and about 6’ off the ground for access. The lure packets that are available for the trap come in an aluminum sleeve that you peel off exposing the clear plastic pouch. You can smell the chemical attractant immediately.  The chemical is contained on a felt like disc within the sealed plastic pouch, so no liquid. Yours is a different design and must disperse the smell through the plastic.

Tim

[Cindy Adair]

Thanks so much Tim! 
 

I will choose two spots and hang my two traps in the next day or two. 
 

Sounds like I should reach out to Alphascents to be sure I am not supposed to do something to make the lure work.

[WaianaeCrider]

On 11/21/2024 at 7:23 AM, Cindy Adair said:

Thanks so much for the updates! I received two of the same traps you have a couple of days ago and here’s one just hanging on my porch for now. 

 

I can reach out to Alphascents but as you are using them on rhinos I thought I would ask you first.

First, how high off the ground should I hang mine?  I HAVE THE AT A HEIGHT SO IT'S EASY TO CHECK AND EMPTY
 

Next, how did you pick a location?  JUST HERE AND THERE AROUND THE 2 ACRES AS IVE GOT PALMS EVERYWHERE.

 

Do I really just hang the lure without an obvious opening for the liquid? YEA SOMEHOW WHAT EVER IT IS WRAPPED IN LETS THE SMELL OUT
 

The package says not to open the bulb. How can that be?


 

I realize that the chemical in my lure is different as the seller custom made it. But does your lure come in the same plastic bulb?  NO MINE IS IN A PLACTIC WRAP WILL TRY TO POST A PICTURE TOMORROW WHEN I MAKE MY WEEKLY CHECK

Do I put something into the plastic bucket sort of thing at the bottom to keep the beetles from leaving?  ITS SUPPOSE TO BE TO SLICK TO CLIMB OUT AND THE WHOLE THEY FALL IN IS TO SMALL TO FLY OUT

As you can see I am clueless about all this so any help appreciated. 

I want to have the same good results you have had catching these critters!

Thanks!

 

[WaianaeCrider]

PS......I drilled a small hole it the bottom of the "catcher" so rain water can drain out.