JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM
Matson workers Charlie Roxburgh, left, Debbie Robins and Sterling Silva looked over a container load of Christmas greenery Sunday during an inspection at Sand Island. CLICK FOR LARGE
|
|
Christmas trees rejected after pests found
Five containers filled with nearly 2,000 fir Christmas trees have been sent back to Oregon after inspectors found a potentially dangerous pest.
Officials are now trying to determine whether the pest is a species of needle midge or a cone midge that affects trees similar to Douglas firs.
"Without a definite ID, it may hit other trees," state entomologist Darcy Oishi said.
The infested containers arrived at the Matson Pier at Sand Island in two separate shipments. One container arrived Nov. 11 in a small shipment. The other four containers were among about 100 containers that arrived on Nov. 18. The five containers had about 1,950 fir trees.
Midges in juvenile form look like larvae or maggots. Oishi said they are the size of a small grain of rice and are either yellow or orange. In adult form they look like mosquitos.
A few hundred larvae were collected from four of the five containers that Oishi observed. Following inspection, he said, the containers were refused entry and returned to Oregon.
The infested trees came from various locations in Oregon. Officials would not name the nurseries or the importer of the infested trees.
Oishi said they are working with the Oregon Department of Agriculture to get a positive identification on the type of midge species found. Depending on the type, midges can cause needle and seed cone damage. They also have the potential to stop tree growth and production at higher levels of infestation, Oishi said.
Officials were able to determine that the midges found in the containers were "miners" that feed into plant tissue and create a wax around themselves for protection from predators.
The mining type of midge is difficult for inspectors to detect, Oishi said. Various factors such as darkness in the containers and humidity could have promoted the emergence of the midges, he said.
Oishi suspects dry weather could have caused the pests to emerge from the trees.
Four years ago a similar type of midge species was found in two containers filled with fir trees.
Oishi said the discovery shows why annual inspections are conducted for tree shipments during the holiday season, to ensure protection of Hawaii's environment.
What is also important is cooperation from exporting states to mitigate the risk of unwanted pests, he said.