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Kokua Line June Watanabe |
Caterpillars eating
Kailua monkeypodsQuestion: Who can I contact to check and perhaps treat two beautiful monkeypod trees that are dying? They are located along a drainage canal behind the new Mormon church on Keolu Drive across from Keolu Elementary School.
Answer: In trying to get an answer to this question, several monkeypod trees in the area were found to be in distress, and they belong variously to the city, the state and private owners.
We called the Outdoor Circle (593-0300), which is a good community resource with its stated mission of keeping Hawaii "clean, green and beautiful by protecting, preserving and enhancing the environment for future generations."
Because the trees are on private property, it can't force any action. But "if anyone wants any kind of advice, we would be more than willing to give advice," said Kimberly Hillebrand, project manager and certified arborist with the Outdoor Circle.
It took a while to sort out what trees you were referring to, because it turned out that many were being attacked by caterpillars.
"They are completely, one by one, defoliating the monkeypods," said Hillebrand, who believes the trees can be safely treated for the problem.
Although the city says the two trees you specify are in Keolu Hills Neighborhood Park, just mauka of Keolu Elementary School, Hillebrand said a member of the Outdoor Circle actually pinpointed them to be on private property.
However, in trying to track down the trees you were referring to, Outdoor Circle volunteers and staff also found 11 monkeypods within the park that are suffering from "a serious caterpillar infestation."
The Parks & Recreation Department's Division of Urban Forestry is working with the Outdoor Circle and is monitoring the problem, said Robert Midkiff Jr., acting park grounds improvement supervisor for the Division of Forestry. "We will decide on a course of treatment as necessary."
In the meantime there are also monkeypod trees being attacked by caterpillars at Enchanted Lake Elementary School.
But Patrick Oka, a certified arborist and landscape architect for the Department of Education, believes it's best just to let nature take its course.
The trees are not dying, he said. They just look bad because they are going "bald."
But he said this problem happens every year, can be seen elsewhere on the island and takes care of itself through natural predators -- birds and beetles. Oka was against using any "poison," for fear of harming birds that might eat the caterpillars.
Mahalo
To Terry. Around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, June 25, I was on my morning walk around Lunalilo School in McCully. When I reached Hauoli and Fern streets, I tripped on the sidewalk, which was very uneven, and had a bad fall. I couldn't move. Within seconds, two gentlemen came and offered to help me up. They calmed me down as I was in great pain. One of them was Terry, who was nice enough to drive me home. I came home feeling very grateful, hoping someday that I can repay his kindness. -- Grateful Senior
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