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Honolulu arborists will begin cutting down dozens of dead and dying palm trees between Mokuleia and Haleiwa next week, adding to the coconut rhinoceros beetle’s mounting toll on Hawaii’s landscapes.

The city’s Department of Parks and Recreation has marked 80 trees for removal due to public safety concerns since the crowns of the damaged trees threaten to fall on people below.

The felling of the trees on the North Shore comes as the city and state struggle to contain the destructive insect, which has spread since it was first found on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in late 2013.

Though 80 coconut palms represent a fraction of , experts warn their removal is only the beginning. Not only does it hurt the scenic shoreline, the beetles are an obstacle to the county’s goal of increasing the number of trees to help fight climate change.

The city plans to start removing the North Shore palm trees Monday at Kaiaka Bay Beach Park in Haleiwa after a similar operation on the Leeward Coast. Meanwhile officials face the question of whether to replace the palms, and if so with what since the CRB threat remains.

‘Not Just The Parks’

CRB Response Deputy Incident Commander Keith Weiser supports the idea of replanting the same species of trees. But that would require more commitment to managing the beetle and its breeding sites from private landowners as well as the county.

If landowners are not willing to spend time and resources on tree management, the palms should be replaced with a species that the coconut rhinoceros beetle does not have a taste for, Weiser said.

“It’s not just the parks that require management,” Weiser said.

“The next three to five years are going to be painful, in terms of the landscape.” 

UH researcher Mike Melzer

CRB like to nest and breed in mulch, green waste and compost. They also can fly up to two miles from their nesting sites to feed on sap from palms, which they bore into, killing the trees.

The Southeast Asian beetles prefer coconut palms, but the trees have proven resilient and take anywhere from six months to five years to die. That means the problem can be managed over time, officials said.

University of Hawaii environmental sciences researcher Mike Melzer said that’s why he prefers not to cut them down unless they pose a direct risk to the public as is the case on the North Shore.

But when left alone and continually attacked, they will die. Melzer and Weiser predict the toll will continue to worsen on the North Shore and Windward Oahu.

“The next three to five years are going to be painful, in terms of the landscape, especially in what we would consider ‘the country’ on Oahu,” Melzer, who works with CRB Response, said. 

That is in part because the beetles have fewer nesting sites in urban areas, he added. 

“The bigger issue here is it’s just the rerun of the sad, continuing saga of invasive pests in Hawaii,” Daniel Dinell from said. 

 “It’s not just coconut rhinoceros beetle. There’s a gall wasp, and some type of fungus that attacks specifically Chinese Banyans,” he said. He singled out a specific Moiliili banyan tree that because of a twig borer infestation.

The county recognizes the issue, having set a goal of increasing its urban tree canopy by 35% by 2035 in a bid to offset rising temperatures associated with climate change. Urban tree cover in Hawaii dropped 5% between 2010 and 2013 – at least 76,000 trees – before the beetle was first detected.

Helping Fight Climate Change

Coconut palms comprised just over 10% of urban Honolulu’s urban tree canopy in 2019, according to the Honolulu Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency.

The palm trees typically sequester more carbon faster than other species because they reach maturity faster, stabilizing soils and preventing run off.

Although not endemic, the trees also are an important symbol of Hawaii and its culture, said Alexander Yee, coastal and water program manager for the office.

Despite eradication efforts, the city and other landowners already have been forced to cut down dead palm trees across central and West Oahu.

Andre Perez of Pearl City had 14 coconut palms on his property before the beetle made landfall on Oahu. Seven are now dead, four are “half-dead” and three are still alive, Perez said.

“We were considered ground zero,” Perez said.

The Native Hawaiian practitioner, who works for the nonprofit Native Hawaiian organization Koihonua, holds “search and destroy days,” dedicated to managing the beetles impacts and keeping his trees alive.

Cultural And Historical Significance

Last year the scarab beetle’s spread to Kauai, Maui and Hawaii Island after almost a decade of containment on Oahu heightened concerns about its impacts on the prized trees.

In Pacific nations and territories such as Guam and Palau, CRB has had a larger economic impact because coconuts are a key food source and economic driver. The beetle was , where coconut products are a major export. 

In Hawaii, coconut palms are rarely used for their fruit but are largely treated as ornamental plants despite their cultural and historical significance to the island. 

Jesse Mikasobe-Kealiinohomoku works on food access with Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center and is trying to reconnect the community with coconut trees, given their historical significance to Hawaii and its people. In addition to food and drink, fibers from coconut husks were used in building canoes and ropes.

The health center on Oahu’s Westside is working with to raise the palm trees in a dedicated nursery before distributing them to the public to plant around the island.

The organizations hope to increase the trees’ footprint, while also educating people on the coconut rhinoceros beetle and its impacts. 

Mikasobe-Kealiinohomoku said 500 young palms will be distributed and in late October, with many going to the public, along with nets to help keep CRB out.

Civil Beat reporter Ben Angarone contributed to this story.

“Hawaii Grown” is funded in part by grants from the Stupski Foundation, Ulupono Fund at the Hawaii Community Foundation and the Frost Family Foundation.