Beetles Attacked Wahiawā Botanical Garden Trees, Closing Trails
A large swath of the central Oʻahu garden has been closed for many weeks due to a coconut rhinoceros beetle infestation. It is scheduled to reopen Thanksgiving weekend.
In the heart of Wahiawā sits a lush green space where paved pathways and rocky trails wind through fruiting banana plants, majestic rainbow eucalyptus trees and cascading lobster claw flowers. The Wahiawā Botanical Garden plays host to a variety of native and non-native flora throughout its 27-acre tropical forest environment.
Some trails have been closed for two months, disrupting the usual flow throughout the garden and blocking off the entire Hawaiian Garden area from visitors.
From the trails above, sad-looking Loulu palms can be seen sagging in the distance, some with a sparse head of hair in place of their usual great mane of fronds — evidence of an invasive pest that has been plaguing the state.
Director of the Honolulu Botanical Gardens, Joshlyn Sand, confirmed the closure was spurred by a coconut rhinoceros beetle infestation of around 60 to 80 trees in the park, severely damaging some of them and killing others.
“The palms there are impacted more than any other area,” Sand said, pointing out that Wahiawā provides a particularly hospitable habitat to the beetle, with lots of moisture and ample green material for breeding, compared to the locations of other botanical gardens she oversees.
The infestation made its way through a group of native Loulu palms in the center of the park, according to Nate Serota of the Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation, which needed to be removed because of their proximity to the walking paths. When a palm dies due to beetle damage, it poses a threat to anyone walking under it.
“During the closure our botanical garden arborists removed approximately 20 palms and treated several others,” Serota said.
Treatments for the beetles in the park come on top of other efforts in Wahiawā, where the parks department and the state Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity are treating palms along Kellogg Street and Royal Palm Drive.
Within the park, Serota said that the county eventually will plant different species of trees in the areas where dead palms have been removed. First, they want to see how effective the palm treatments are in managing the infestation of the remaining trees since more removals may be needed. They also want to assess whether removals need to extend to hillside areas farther away from the path.
But there is good news on the Fix It! front: Serota said the Wahiawā Botanical Garden plans to complete its infestation mitigation efforts in time to reopen the paths this Thanksgiving weekend.
Who Is Responsible?
Maintenance of Oʻahu parks and park facilities fall under the Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation. The director of the parks department is Laura H. Thielen. The department office phone number is (808) 768-3003.
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