In a dark week for the birds and bees
on Kaua`i, both mongooses and small hive beetles have been confirmed
to be resident on the island.
Each is a serious pest with significant
impacts on natural resources—the former to birds, and the latter to
bees.
(Image: A blowup of a photo of the Kaua`i mongoose. Source: KISC.)
Invasive species specialists this week
trapped an extraordinarily healthy male mongoose at the Kauai Lagoons
area above Nawiliwili. An autopsy is planned, but the animal appeared
large, fat and quite robust, said Keren Gunderson, project manager of
the Kauai Invasive Species Committee (KISC).
A KISC press released reported that “a
lactating female was discovered dead on Kaumuali`i Highway near
Kalaheo in 1976, but none of the invasive animals have been found
since then. However, there have been over 160 credible reports of
sightings in the last 44 years, with over 70 in the last decade
alone.”
Mongooses are serious predators,
particularly of ground-nesting birds. At risk are our endangered
waterbird species, including nene geese, ducks, gallinules, coots and
stilts, but also barnyard birds, including chickens. (Some folks will
cheer the possible impact on chickens, but the threatened loss of our
healthy water bird populations is a major blow, since Kauai has been
the last holdout for them.)
Other islands do have some of the
native waterbirds, but in much smaller numbers than Kauai--likely in
part because of mongoose predation.
The other new Kauai`i pest is the small
hive beetle, a significant predator on honey bees. This small,
brown-black beetle infests bee hives, and its larvae feed on bee
honey and bee larvae.
Beekeepers noticed small beetles in
hives during the past weekend and early this week and collected
samples, which were submitted to the state Department of Agriculture
for identification. The beetles are initially known to be at three
separate locations.
“(Hawai`i Department of Agriculture)
entomologists in Honolulu positively identified the submitted
specimens as small hive beetle (Aethina tumida),” wrote Jacquie
Robson, an apiary planner with the Hawai`i Department of
Agriculture/RCUH Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit.
The small hive beetle is established on
the other islands, where beekeepers must engage in time-consuming
management activities to keep their numbers under control. Weak hives
can be destroyed by the beetles.
The state Department of Agriculture was
in the process of mapping infested hive locations, officials on
Kaua`i said.
At risk are the island's small but
growing honey industry, but more importantly the pollination services
the bees provide to fruit, nut and vegetable growers, both backyard
and commercial.
Since the animals are strong flyers,
their spread across the island seems likely.
In the case of the mongooses, there
have been numerous reports—increasing numbers since the trapping
this week—at locations around the island. They’ve been reported
from the south side of the island and the far north, and numerous
points between.
It is too early to say categorically
that they're established on the island, but the indications are not
favorable for wildlife. The trapping of a healthy male, following a
new flurry of mongoose sightings around the island, suggests the
presence of a breeding population.
© Jan TenBruggencate 2012
