Off the news: CRB blockade ramps up in urban Honolulu

City and state departments are collaborating to halt — or at least slow — the coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB) scourge that is plundering Oahu’s iconic palm trees. Crews on Monday injected an initial round of preventative Xytect insecticide treatment into about 800 palms in city parks, from Kakaako through Ala Moana. Hopes are that the initiative will contain CRB to already-affected areas and reduce opportunities for the voracious beetle to move west into dense, rural palm populations.

Also part of the city’s plan to ameliorate CRB impacts is to replace blighted palms with shade trees.

To report a CRB sighting, call 808-643- PEST (7378) or visit 643pest.org.