Coffee Part 4

  The miniscule borer beetle is the devastating pest causing the destruction in the previous posts.  The top photo shows the beetles in contrast with a dime these female beetles are pregnant and ready to move to new coffee cherries.  The bean they came from is not even yellow yet and nowhere near ripe.  The amount of destruction caused by these beetles is amazing compared to their size.  There size and lifecycle make it nearly impossible to eradicate, or even control them.  The number of coffee farmers not willing to do anything about it only makes the issue worse.  Coffee farmers in Kona are giving up growing coffee entirely as it is no longer a viable crop that can pay for the taxes in which it is grown on. I don’t know of any coffee farmers personally that have a decent way to save Kona coffee from the beetle other than eradication of coffee for at least two years.