TLSB in the News
2022-10-17 TWO-LINED SPITTLEBUG REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)
The Two-Lined Spittlebug (TLSB), Prosapia bicincta, was first detected in Hawai`i in 2016 and by 2021 infested 180,000 acres on Hawai`i Island. In recognition of the severe impacts of this pest, the Legislature appropriated $350,000 through Act 137 of Session Laws of Hawai`i 2021 for mitigation and control of the TLSB and recovery of the rangelands damaged by this pest. The Hawai`i Department of Agriculture (HDOA) will be issuing service awards via a request for proposals (RFP) through the Research Corporation of the University of Hawai`i to mitigate and control two-lined spittlebugs in affected rangelands. Affected rangeland-related businesses are encouraged to apply for funding through this program for the management and recovery from impacts caused by TLSB. We will have an informational period including two future online opportunities for consultation with the department.
2021-07-22 Help is on the way: Funding to assist ranchers in battling two-lined spittlebug
Help is on the way for Big Island ranchers fighting an invasive bug decimating pasture land in North and South Kona.
Franny Brewer of the Big Island Invasive Species Committee said the two-lined spittlebug (TLSB) could fit easily on a fingernail, looking innocuous and almost pretty with its orange-on-black stripes. But for Big Island ranchers…
2021-07-17 Invasive pest threatening Hawaii's cattle industry.
The invasive twolined spittlebug is threatening the Big Island Cattle industry and experts don't know how to get rid of it.
2021-07-17 Big Island ranches are reeling as tiny invasive bugs wreak havoc on pastures
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - A silent assassin is sweeping through pastures on Hawaii island, leaving a swath of destruction in its wake. The invasive two-lined spittlebug was first spotted in Kona in 2016. Since then, it has done a tremendous amount of damage. “It is completely decimating our mid to high-elevation pastures in Kona,” said Carolyn Wong, a grazing land management specialist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service...
2021-01-09 Two-lined spittlebug: A threat to Hawaii’s ranches, watersheds
(The Maui News) - In 2016, a rancher on Hawaii island saw a large swath of his green pastures quickly turn brown. Surveys revealed a new invasive pest and even more damage: the two-lined spittlebug (Prosapia bicincta) had already decimated 2,000 acres of his land in the Kona area. Over the last four years, the infestation has expanded across 175,000 acres of rangeland — an area nearly half the size of Oahu. At this rate, the voracious bug is consuming 35,000 acres of pasture land each year. Maui ranchers are worried that the two-lined spittlebug will make it to our island and damage pastures here..
2020-02-12 Schatz Seeks Federal Help to Fight Invasive Spittlebug on Hawai‘i Island
(The Maui News) - US Senator Brian Schatz of Hawai‘i is calling on Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue to step in and provide “immediate support” toward efforts to control and eradicate the invasive spittlebug pest that he says is threatening Hawai‘i Island’s livestock industry.
“This invasive pest could destroy Hawai‘i’s proud heritage of ranching by decimating the pastures that allow Hawai‘i cattle to grow strong and healthy,” Senator Schatz wrote in his letter to Secretary Perdue, “our ranchers need your help urgently to maintain this vibrant part of Hawai‘i’s agricultural economy.”
2019-12-10 Farmers have few options for fighting two-lined spittle bug
(Hawaii Tribune Herald) - County, state and federal agencies are still seeking solutions to an invasive insect that threatens much of the Big Island’s livestock industry.
The two-lined spittle bug is originally native to the southern United States but was first discovered on the Big Island in 2016. Since then, the insects have affected hundreds of thousands of acres of cattle grazing land on the Island, but no effective solution has been proven.
2019-12-02 The Two-Lined Spittle Bug (TLSB)
(Hamakua Times) - Livestock ranching is a highly productive and extremely valuable industry in Hawaii with more than 142,000 head of beef cattle in the state on 1,300 ranches However, the Hawaiian livestock industry now faces a severe threat from a new exotic grass pest.
The Two-Lined Spittle Bug (TLSB) was discovered in Kailua- Kona in late 2016 when a rancher on upper-elevation Hualalai first reported widespread die-off of pastures. Nearly 2,000 acres were already affected and by late 2018, surveys revealed that the TLSB had impacted 126,000 acres of rangeland. Recent surveys show that the insect is now moving toward the pastures of Waimea…