A live ramie moth (Arcte coerula) caterpillar was recently discovered on Kauaʻi, marking the first detection of this invasive species on the Garden Isle.
The discovery — reported by a community member to Kauaʻi Invasive Species Committee — sparked a swift response from University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources and Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity.
Growing threat to native ecosystems
Ramie moth caterpillars are prolific feeders known to quickly defoliate māmaki, a native Hawaiian plant vital to Hawaiʻi forests and culturally significant for its use in lāʻau lapaʻau, or traditional Hawaiian healing practices.
“We are really worried about this because we’ve seen it spread from Maui to the Big Island in 2020, then to Oʻahu in 2024 and now to Kauaʻi,” said University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience graduate student Michelle Au, who has tracked the invasive pest since 2019…