For generations, this is what a healthy coconut palm looked like on Kaua'i — full crown, glossy fronds, green fruit clustered thick against the trunk. This is what we grew up under.
Right now, that skyline is changing. The coconut rhinoceros beetle has been spreading across the East Side and beyond, boring into the crowns and cutting the fronds down to ragged, wilted stumps. It doesn't happen overnight — the damage is already months deep before you ever see it.
We're not posting this to alarm you. We're posting it as a record. A reminder of what a healthy coconut tree is supposed to look like, so we know what we're fighting to protect — and so we actually look up and notice while we still can.
If you see the telltale V-shaped cuts on fronds or signs of boring, report it. Small, early action is still the best tool we have.