Maui County officials are encouraging residents to attend a free two-part series on the threat posed by coconut rhinoceros beetles, invasive pests recently detected on Maui.

The first session will be a virtual town hall from 4 to 6 p.m. July 9 on Microsoft Teams at bit.ly/CRBTownHall. The session will cover coconut rhinoceros beetle education, interagency response plans, real-time data tracking, pest identification and reporting methods.

The second session will be an in-person resource fair from 5 to 7 p.m. July 13 at the University of Hawaii Maui College Pilina Building Event Center. The event will connect community members with partner agencies and biosecurity experts, and attendees will receive free educational resource packets.

County officials said the beetle spreads rapidly through green waste and damages coconut, loulu and other palms. It also threatens agricultural plants including coconut trees, hala, taro, banana, pineapple and sugar cane.

Participating agencies and organizations include the Maui County Department of Environmental Management, Office of the Mayor, Department of Agriculture, state Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity, Maui Invasive Species Committee, UH CRB Response Team, Pulama Lanai and the Hawaii Invasive Species Council.