By Ken Ige, Star-Bulletin
A monkeypod tree off Kalanianaole Highway near
Castle Junction has lost most of its leaves.
Trees, like other living things, have life spans, but trees generally outlive all of us. But they do have accidents and life-threatening diseases and pests as well. Caterpillar leaves
monkeypods bareThe question is why would an apparently healthy tree, surrounded by other healthy foliage, die?
Monkeypods and other large trees around the state are shedding their leaves and apparently dying. The trees, like the ones in the photograph above, are next to Kalanianaole Highway on the way into Kailua, their stark branches in contrast to the growing trees around them.
As long as they haven't been girdled, and there's enough water, they may not actually be dead, according to desmond ogata, a research associate at the University of Hawaii-Manoa's tropical agriculture department.
Turns out there's a type of bug, the monkeypod/kiawe caterpillar, that just loves its namesake leaves, and they'll stick on a monkeypod or kiawe and ignore surrounding plants.
"They're kind of ugly-looking creatures, about an inch long, brown and black and green-gray," said Ogata. "They hide in the crevices of the bark down near the ground."
Is your monkeypod getting naked? Ogata suggest throwing a bucket of soapy water on the bark, and if caterpillars come swarming out, you've got bugs. The tree, even without leaves, is OK, except that it'll be weakened by not being able to photosynthesize nutrients.
"Punahou (School) had a tree they thought had died, and they were considering cutting it down," said Ogata. "But several months later, leaves came out again after the caterpillars had gone."
Landscape gardeners generally treat the trees by tying burlap around the trunk, and the nocturnal bugs are caught in the fabric. The fabric is shaken out during the day, much to the delight of hungry birds.
Burl Burlingame, Star-Bulletin
