This is several miles north of where CRB have been previously found on Oahu.
The imagos are the destructive stage, they bore into the crown of the palm resulting in wedge shaped or V cuts in the fronds that unfurl. Yesterday afternoon, CRB crews found a live female beetle in a survey trap near Mililani south of the Leilehua Golf Course. The coconut rhinoceros beetle is one of the most damaging insects to coconut palms and African oil palm in southern and south- east Asia and the Western Pacific islands. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. HONOLULU Another live adult coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB) has been found outside of the known infestation area on Oahu. Key words: Coconut rhinoceros beetle diagnostic assay multiplex PCR oriental flower beetle. This assay also features an internal positive control to ensure DNA of sufficient quantity and quality is used in the assay, increasing its reliability and reducing the chances of false negative results. The coconut rhinoceros beetle, Oryctes rhinoceros (L.) (Coleoptera: Scara- baeidae), is one of the most important pests of coconut and oil palms in South and Southeast Asia (Ho and Toh, 1982. Here, we report the development of a multiplex PCR assay targeting cytochrome oxidase I of coconut rhinoceros beetle and oriental flower beetle that can rapidly detect and distinguish between these insects. Eggs, early life stages, and fecal excrement of coconut rhinoceros beetle and oriental flower beetle are morphologically indistinguishable, thereby creating uncertainty when such specimens are discovered in the field. Confounding this program is the widespread presence of another scarab beetle on Oahu, the oriental flower beetle, Protaetia orientalis (Gory and Percheron 1833). An incipient coconut rhinoceros beetle population was recently discovered on the island of Oahu, Hawaii and is currently the target of a large, mutiagency eradication program. The coconut rhinoceros beetle, Oryctes rhinoceros (L.), is a major pest of coconut and other palm trees.