DOE plans to replace decaying banyan trees at McKinley High

The state Department of Education said it expects to spend nearly $30,000 to remove decaying banyan trees from the McKinley High School campus and replace them with a new species.

Work is scheduled to begin Friday to remove six towering banyan trees on the school’s front lawn that have been destroyed by an infestation of gall wasps. The department previously removed four damaged trees in April as a safety precaution; 17 of the school’s 34 iconic banyan trees have been damaged by the wasps since 2006.

The withering trees — which have lost most of their leaves — will be replaced with golden trumpet trees, which the DOE says are naturally resistant to gall wasps. The removal of the banyans and planting of the first 10 replacement trees are expected to be completed by early August at a cost of $27,500.

“After several unsuccessful attempts to eradicate the gall wasp infestation over the past decade, we’ve concluded this is our best option,” Dann Carlson, assistant superintendent for school facilities, said in a news release. “We have worked closely with our partners at the state Department of Agriculture and determined that the damaged trees need to be removed before they become a safety hazard to our students.”

The insects were first identified on the McKinley campus in 2005 during an islandwide infestation of banyan and wiliwili trees. The tiny wasps burrow into tree branches and lay eggs in young leaf and stem tissue, preventing new leaves from growing. Affected trees stop growing and lose their leaves before dying.

Unsuccessful attempts to save the trees included using a different variety of wasp that acts as a natural predator of gall wasps, but that wasp also began damaging the banyans. Several chemical insecticide treatments also were ineffective.

McKinley Principal Ron Okamura said the replacement golden trumpet trees “will provide similar-sized canopies, shade and a wonderful display of gold blooms every spring on our front lawn, which match McKinley’s school colors” (gold and black).