HONOLULU -- Hawaii state agriculture officials on Wednesday announced that a beetle that has been devastating in coffee farms around the world has made its way to the islands.

The coffee berry borer beetle lays its eggs in the coffee "cherry" that contains the bean. The larvae feed on the coffee bean and reduce the bean's size and quality, agriculture officials said.

University of Hawaii at Manoa staff from the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources collected the beetles from several Kona farms. A U.S. Department of Agriculture laboratory in Maryland identified the beetles.

"This is terrible news for our important coffee industry," Hawaii Board of Agriculture Chairwoman Sandra Lee Kunimoto said. "It appears that this pest has been here for several years and may be well established in some growing areas in South Kona."

State Department of Agriculture officials are checking farms on the Big Island to determine how widespread the infestation is. From early interviews with farmers, state officials said the insect might have been on the Big Island for more than a year from Kainaliu to Honaunau.

Officials said they do not know how the coffee berry borer arrived in Hawaii.

The insect has devastated crops in Africa, Central America and South America. A UH-CTAHR coffee specialist has urged coffee growers to cut down shade, remove coffee cherries from the ground and destroy infested cherries by burning, deep burying or rapid drying.

If Hawaii coffee growers suspects the coffee berry borer has turned up in their plants, they can call the HDOA Plant Pest Control Branch on Oahu at (808) 973-9522 or e-mail: hdoa.ppc@hawaii.gov.