Active response updates

• Little Fire Ant (LFA): 
  • The Hawaii Ant Lab (HAL) has continued coordinating Little Fire Ant (LFA) eradication efforts with HDOA, ISCs, CGAPS, and other agencies on Kauai, Oahu, and Maui. Though it may seem disheartening that LFA are being detected, it shows an increased awareness of this invasive species. These detections have population sizes that indicate the ants have been there for some time. This reinforces the need to test your properties for LFA at least once per year, and to test any high risk items you are bringing onto a property. Vigilance is key.
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  • Above: Staff & Volunteers Mixing Gel Ant Bait for back-pack sprayer application at a large LFA site on Oahu.
  • October was Spot the Ant, Stop the Ant month. HAL collaborated with Representative Lowen, West Hawaii Forum, and BIISC to discuss LFA and the services we off to assist those in need on Big Island. The forum will be broadcast on Na Leo TV. Our research team is continuing to look at additional pesticides that could potentially be used to treat LFA in edible crops, which as of now, it is basically limited to the use of Tango in the HAL Gel Bait. This will allow more options for our farmers. The extension team has been busy arming our farmers with best management practices for prevention and management of LFA.
     
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  • Additional outbreaks of Little Fire Ants have been detected on neighbor islands, some of which may be linked to the movement of personal items. As a reminder, Little Fire Ants are hitchhikers and can catch a ride on nearly anything. We can accidentally bring them with us when we travel or move to another island, so test all belongings and ensure you don’t bring this pest home with you!
  • If you find that you or your organization has an issue with invasive ants, please feel free to contact the Hawaii Ant Lab at (808) 315-5656. We are here to assist with best management plans for any situation.

• Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle (CRB):
  • For more information or pictures, please contact the CRB Response at 679-5244 or BeetleBustersHI@gmail.com
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  • It's a Doggy-Dog World: An Interview with the CRB Detector Dog Handlers

    Tell us about who you are and what you are doing? 

    Cody Morden and I, Vanessa Beane, are the canine handlers for the Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle Response. September 26, 2019 marked the end of our eight-week training led by Joe Chopko from USDA. For both the handlers and our dogs Bravo and Rider, this is our first time working as a canine detector team. We have been working on detecting CRB in green waste while acclimating the dogs to new sites around the island. 

    How do you feel about your progress in the field?

    Cody and I are very confident in the dogs’ ability to identify CRB. They excel in differentiating CRB amongst other non-target species such as the Oriental flower beetle. We are increasing both dogs’ search duration especially in the field. The dogs are also acclimating well to new environments. We have taken the dogs to all of the priority areas on the island and have found various life stages at multiple sites.

    What are some of the limitations and challenges you are encountering in your training?

    One of our limitations have been with the containers used in training, as the dogs sometimes associate the containers itself with finding the Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle. We are also working with the dogs to expose them to green waste that CRB is less commonly found in on Oahu such as stumps and branches. Our biggest limitation is with the verification processes. When a dog responds, we need to verify if CRB is actually there. We also must decide how much effort we are going to put into searching in order to produce that verification if it is not quickly found. Verification is important as it provides positive reinforcement for the canines and confirms that they are correctly responding to CRB. We are working with the field crew to determine the best way of verifying a response from the dogs. 

    Overall, we are on track with our training and acclimating schedule. We feel good about the progress we are making. Please contact us with any inquiries about the canine detector program at CRBDOG1@hawaii.edu and/or CRBDOG2@hawaii.edu.
    

• Rapid Ohia Death (ROD):
• ROD Newsletter:  To view the current issue of the newsletter click the link as follows: http://mailchi.mp/e1ed2686c31b/rapid-hia-death-newsletter
  • To opt-in to receive future newsletters please click on link here: http://eepurl.com/cY7z0j
  • The U.S. Forest Service ROD Squad has been collecting fenced vs. unfenced ‘ōhi‘a plot data from several sites on Hawai‘i Island over the past several years. Preliminary data shows that unfenced (free-roaming hooved animals) areas have a higher concentration and presence of ROD in forested habitats than do fenced (little to no hooved animals present) areas.

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    Sanitize for inter-island travel! 
    Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death disease (ROD) has been detected on Hawaiʻi Island, Kauaʻi, Maui and Oʻahu. If you or someone you know will be traveling inter-island, please take extra care to clean your shoes and gear before and after traveling between islands to prevent the spread of ROD. First brush the dirt off, then spray with 70% rubbing alcohol. If hiking, remember to stay off of ʻōhiʻa roots –walking on roots can break bark and expose the trees to ROD-causing fungi.
    

  • What is the latest recommendation for what to do with infected ʻōhiʻa wood?     Keep wood onsite. Don’t turn it into mulch as that creates more material to spread disease. If felling a tree, cut with a sharpened tool on a low-wind, drizzly day to keep infectious material from moving around. Make as few cuts as possible. Wood can be safely burned in an imu, barbecue, smokehouse, or fireplace. Otherwise, keep it covered with a tarp to keep boring ambrosia beetles from attacking or escaping from the wood.
• ROD Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/RapidOhiaDeath/ 
• Research Update: 
  • Learn more about the ROD Seed Banking Initiative and sign up for future workshops at ohialove.com.
• The Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death Strategic Response Plan is available at www.rapidohiadeath.org
• Recommended Actions to Prevent the Spread of ROD:
  • 1) Keep your eyes open. If you see ʻōhiʻa with a limb or crown turning brown, take a picture, and contact KISC via email (saveohia@hawaii.edu) or phone (808-821-1490). Samples of the wood must be taken by trained technicians and tested in a laboratory to confirm the presence of the ROD fungi.
  • 2) Avoid injuring ʻōhiʻa. Wounds serve as entry points for the fungus and increase the odds that the tree will become infected and die from ROD. Avoid pruning and contact with heavy equipment wherever possible.
  • 3) Clean gear and tools, including shoes and clothes, before and after entering the forest and areas where ʻōhiʻa may be present. Brush all soil off tools and gear, then spray with 70% rubbing alcohol. Wash clothes with hot water and soap.
  • 4) Wash your vehicle with a high-pressure hose or washer if you’ve been off-roading or have picked up mud from driving. Clean all soil off tires--including mountain bikes and motorcycles--and vehicle undercarriage.
  • 5) Don’t move ʻōhiʻa wood or ʻōhiʻa parts, including adjacent soil. The disease can be spread to new areas by moving plants, plant parts, and wood from infected areas to non-infected areas.
• MEDIA RESOURCES
  (All images/video courtesy: DLNR)
  • HD video-field survey training, digital sketch mapping (May 11, 2018)
    https://vimeo.com/269082425 (shot sheet attached)
  • HD video-Kauai Rapid Ōhiʻa Death video news release (May 11, 2018)
    https://vimeo.com/269288041
  • Photographs-digital sketch mapping, field survey training:
  • https://www.dropbox.com/sh/mq70cw6a28ntdvv/AADuifNH5sjB19l0e0ZSRz7ba?dl=0
  • Video-Ceratocystis: Tale of Two Species & Screening for Resistance:
    https://vimeo.com/258657188
  • For more on Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death:
    https://cms.ctahr.hawaii.edu/rod/
    Credit: Kauai Invasive Species Committee/Kim S. Rogers:
  • https://www.dropbox.com/sh/bfvw1jtvzfiwv21/AABcDlc_BMwJqMDwUWaok36-a?dl=0
    Seanne Igne (Protection Forester/DOFAW) is pictured while conducting Digital Mobile Sketch Mapping surveys via helicopter.
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• Photo: Nate Yuen

• Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR)
  • Please visit the link above for general information.
  • Sydney Luitgaarden (left) and Gen Devine (right) are sampling Honolulu Harbor water for validating a rapid ballast water biosecurity assessment tool against the federal standard operating procedures for measuring ballast water compliance.  The standard operating procedures are costly, laborious, and require expensive instrumentation to perform, therefore, DAR is validating this tool in the hopes that it could be used as an indicator for assessing the biosecurity risk of ballast water onboard vessels.
• Division Of Forestry And Wildlife (DOFAW)
  • Please visit the link above for general information. 
• Kaho`olawe Island Reserve Commission (KIRC)
  • Please visit the link above for general information.

• Please visit the link above for general information.
• Rapid Ohia Death (ROD)
  • ROD Reminder: Anyone on ROD-free islands with suspect trees should call their local Invasive Species Committee (see links below under University of Hawaii's Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit) so that any samples go through HDOA's Plant Quarantine Branch (PQB) and not through the regular post – More information can be found at www.rapidohiadeath.org.

• Mamalu Poepoe (Sphere of Protection) Project - Mamalu Poepoe is a project funded by the Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) for a period of 5 years. The program is being coordinated through the Hawaii Invasive Species Council (HISC) and aims at increasing surveillance of invasive species at six airport facilities on the islands of Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Maui and Hawaii. The program targets Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle (CRB), Africanized honeybees (AHB), ants and mosquitoes.
• The Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA) is the lead agency for the work on ants, CRB and AHB and the Hawaii Department of Health (HDOH) is the lead agency for the work on mosquitoes. Mamalu Poepoe is partnering with the Invasive Species Committees (ISC’s) and the Hawaii Ant Lab (HAL) to conduct the monitoring activities. 

• Big Island Invasive Species Committee (BIISC) 

  • Plant Crew:

    • We are happy to welcome Luke Camarillo to the plant crew.

    • Interagency control efforts, in collaboration with NARS and Three Mountain Alliance, to control gorse (Ulex europaeus) and faya (Morella faya) are ongoing.

    • Herbicide trials to control common woody weeds such as Cecropia obtusifolia and Trema orientalis and herbaceous weeds such as wedelia (Sphagneticola trilobata) and sensitive grass (Mimosa pudica) have begun. Preliminary results are expected by Spring 2021.

  • Outreach

    • Partnered with the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources to inform the public about the Two-lined spittlebug (Prosapia bicincta), a newly established invasive pest that is decimating prime pasture land on the west side of Hawaii island.

    • Ongoing monthly: Saturday information sessions held at the Hawaiian Paradise Park community center informing the public about albizia control, little fire ant control, or rat lungworm.

    • Four new neighborhoods joined the community LFA program. These neighbors make a year-long commitment to treat for LFA every 4 to 6 weeks while we give them guidance, reminders, and troubleshoot any problems they might have.

    • Participated in the West Hawaii Forum, in collaboration with the Hawaii Ant Lab, to discuss the history, biology, and control of little fire ants for public television.

    • Presented at the 2019 LICH conference. 

  • Early detection

    • Barbados gooseberry (Pereskia aculeata) has been officially eradicated from all known places in the district of Kohala. Eradication efforts continue in other areas on Hawaii Island.

    • Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) was detected and eradicated from a high-value pristine native forest. 

    • ROD team (in collaboration with other government agencies)

    • Researched how to best treat infected ohia plant material and limit further production of Ceratocystis inoculum after a tree is felled.

    • Working to produce a Special Local Needs Label (SLN) for an insecticide that can be implemented into current land management protocols.

• Kaua`i Invasive Species Committee (KISC)
  • Please visit the link above for general information.
  • Coqui frogs (Eleutherodactylus coqui 
  • In a press release dated Friday, October 25, the Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA) announced a new detection of little fire ants (LFA) on Kauai in the Kilauea area. This is the first new population found on Kauai since 1999.  Delimiting surveys have been completed by HDOA in partnership with Kauai Invasive Species Committee (KISC) and the Hawaii Ant Lab (HAL), and treatment has of the 2.5 acre area has commenced.
  • Mayor Derek Kawakami issued a Proclamation declaring Stop-the-Ant Month for Kauai and support for LFA Awareness.  Coinciding with the new Kauai detection in the closing week of the statewide Stop-the-Ant campaign, the Proclamation is both a timely reminder of the need for year-round vigilance by all residents and a call to action for LFA testing.
  • An intensive outreach campaign was organized during October Stop-the-Ant Month to promote LFA awareness and testing on Kauai, including: 22 classroom visits and a Citizen Science project for schools, staffed displays at three community events, a bio-sanitation workshop, eight daily radio announcements across three major station groups, a north-shore library display, media and social media coverage, and establishment of distribution sites for test kits at 12 locations island-wide.   
  • In September, a specialized Rapid ‘Ōhi’a Death (ROD) team made up of members from Kauai Invasive Species Committee, Big Island Invasive Species Committee and the Division of Forestry and Wildlife conducted an extensive survey in key areas on Kaua‘i where Ceratocystis lukuohia had previously been detected. To date, 48 trees in three low-to mid-elevation locations across Kaua'i have tested positive for this virulent species. Several of these trees are located along two maintained trail systems—Powerline and Moalepe Trails in Wailua. Forest users are encouraged to use proper bio-sanitation methods to help contain the disease.
  • In September and October, KISC’s outreach efforts related to ROD included bio-sanitation trainings for tour operators and HDOT, workshops on how to grow ‘ōhi’a in backyards and collecting ‘ōhi‘a seeds for conservation, and distribution of 143 bio-sanitation kits (sponsored by Hawaii Tourism Authority). In partnership with the Rotary Club of Hanalei Bay, National Tropical Botanical Garden, and Kauai Invasive Species committee, 100 ‘ōhi’a treelings were handed out at Kaua‘i’s first Great ‘Ōhi‘a Giveaway in October.
  • Kauai DOFAW installed two new boot brush stations (built by Maui DOFAW) at the Koke‘e Museum and at Pihea Trail in Koke‘e State Park.
• Maui Invasive Species Committee (MISC)
  • Please visit the link above for general information.
  • Ants: See a video of one of the aerial ant bait application tests here: Nahiku LFA Aerial Treatment. 
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  • Little Fire Ants are TINY! Only about 1/8" in length, but pack a sting like an ELECTRIC SHOCK! In Australia, LFA are called "Electric Ants" due to their shocking sting!
• Molokai-Maui Invasive Species Committee (MoMISC)
  • Please visit the link above for general information.
• O`ahu Invasive Species Committee (OISC) 
  • Please visit the link above for general information.
  • Miconia (Miconia calvescens):  OISC field crew surveyed 1,765 and removed 569 immature miconia plants. A single mature plant was found on an aerial survey in the Kahaluʻu Watershed and ground crew were able to reach it on foot via hiking and rappelling and were able to remove the plant. . If you susepct miconia, report to OISC along with photos if possible. E: oisc@hawaii.edu P: 808-266-7994.
  • Devil Weed (Chromolaena odorata):  Crews surveyed 414 acres and removed 1,076 immature and 91 mature devil weed plants from the ʻAiea, Kahana, and Paumalu Watersheds. If you suspect devil weed, report to OISC along with photos if possible. E: oisc@hawaii.edu P: 808-266-7994.
  • Little Fire Ants (Wasmannia auropunctata): For details on how to collect and submit ant for ID, visit: http://stoptheant.org/report-little-fire-ants/ (LFA)
    •  Oʻahu has eight locations in Halawa, Kāneʻohe, ʻĀhuimanu, Lanikai, Kualoa, Makiki Heights, Pauoa, and Lāʻie currently being treated for LFA. OISC and Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture are accepting ant samples for identification. Finding LFA early is essential for effective eradication. Collecting and submitting ants is quick and easy. OISC and Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture are accepting ant samples for identification. Visit www.stoptheant.org for more information.
  • Rapid ‘Ōhi‘a Death (ROD): OISC completed the six-month aerial survey of Oʻahu’s ʻōhiʻa forests. There have been three (3) detections of the less-aggressive ROD fungus (Ceratocystis huliohia) on Oʻahu. OISC, along with land managers from Dept. of Land & Natural Resources, Koʻolau Mountain Watershed Partnership, and other conservation organization continue early detection surveys and sampling across the island. If you see ‘ōhiʻa that is dead or dying with brown leaves still attached, report to OISC along with photos if possible. E: oisc@hawaii.edu P: 808-266-7994.
  • Naio Thrips (Klambothrips myopori):  OISC is still conducting early detection surveys and removing both infested naio plants as well as landscaped naio that is not yet infested. Have a naio plant in your yard? OISC will replace it with an alternative native plant if you remove your naio BEFORE it gets infested. Our goal is to protect wild naio populations by removing landscaped naio so the thrips do not have harbors that allow them to move around the island. These wild naio plants provide important habitat for native seabirds, forest birds, bees, and other fauna. Report naio plants to OISC along with photos if possible. E: oisc@hawaii.edu P: 808-266-7994.
  • Outreach: Outreach staff attended 3 events, including showing the award-winning documentary “Saving ʻŌhiʻa” at two Honolulu Botanical Gardens, visited 190 students in three schools, presented on invasive species at the Landscape Industry Conference and Hawaiʻi Nature Center. OISC also presented information for Sen. Gil Riviere, Sen. Kurt Fevella about recent invasive species issues on Oʻahu.

• Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council (HISC)
  • Please visit the link above for general information.
  • The HISC support team worked with the Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species (CGAPS) to gather over 70 stakeholders to provide input on a joint HISC and CGAPS strategic planning effort. The HISC and CGAPS 2025 Strategy will help focus how these two complementary networks support agencies and partners in meeting their goals under the 2027 Hawaii Interagency Biosecurity Plan. A draft of the strategy will be presented at a public HISC meeting in late November.
  • HISC presented at the 2019 Hawaii Agriculture Conference in October, describing the importance of interagency biosecurity planning and capacity building in protecting Hawaii’s agricultural resources.
• Hawaii-Pacific Weed Risk Assessment (HPWRA) program
  • New Assessments: The HPWRA promotes responsible and informed planting choices by providing an objective, science-based and accurate method of assessing the invasive potential of plants being imported into and/or planted within the Hawaiian Islands. In the past two months, 6 new assessments and 14 revised assessments have been completed, bringing the current total of screened plant species to 2046. Of note were assessments for two Dicksonia tree fern species showing signs of invasiveness on Hawaii island. All assessments can be accessed at the Plant Pono website: (https://plantpono.org/)
  • All new and previously completed assessments can be accessed at the redesigned Plant Pono website: (https://plantpono.org/)
• The HISC Facebook page now has over 900 followers. Please Like & Follow HISC on Facebook to receive updates from HISC news, posts from our website, and invasive species-related posts from our constituent agencies and partners.
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• 643pest.org, 643-PEST app, or the 643-PEST (7378) telephone hotline.
  • Pest Report of the Month

• Got flatworms?
  Please report flatworms to 643pest.org as part of a push to collect specimens for identification by the Bishop Museum. Flatworms, also known as hammerhead worms, are presumed to be found throughout the state. The Bishop Museum would like to identify the diversity of species found on each island. Please keep any flatworms found contained and alive. The most productive time to find and collect flatworms is on warm nights after a light to moderate rainfall, when these mollusks are active and out in the open. Flatworms, like other land molluscs in Hawaii, are potential carriers of rat lungworm parasites. Use care when handling.
   
• The HISC Brown Bag series continues! Check the link in the Upcoming Events section below for the next presentation dates & topics.

Upcoming events

• HISC Brown Bag: Stay Tuned for the next Brown Bag presentations and see past presentations here: https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/hisc/category/brownbag/
  • Brown Bag #28: Marine Sponge DNA: Jan Vincente; November, 6, 2019
  • Brown Bag #29: Albizia in KMWP: JC Watson/Will Weaver; December, TBD, 2019