On 12 April 2020, “abrahamceja” posted photographs on iNaturalist ( ) of a large scarabaeid beetle, collected in Bahía de Banderas, Nayarit, México from a rotting log containing 60 beetles ( S1 and S2). The location of iNaturalist reports and pictures from google search engine were mapped using ‘R Studio’ software with data package “leaflet” (Cheng et al., 2019). Screen shots of pictures with CRB damage symptoms were taken with GPS location and dates. Name of the sites were then searched in the google map website ( ) using the ‘photos’ function within the website, pictures of palms with clearly visible crowns were selected from each site. Reports of CRB were observed from two sites in Southern Mexico. The iNaturalist website was first browsed for the ‘coconut rhinoceros beetle’ distribution map on 10 July 2022. Although some may be sceptical about the credibility of information available on social media, we have demonstrated the potential for use of social media sources to detect biosecurity incursions earlier than by traditional methods. Here, we report for the first time the possible establishment of CRB in Mexico using a combination of iNaturalist website ( ) and public photos uploaded to the google engine ( ). Therefore, it is important to be vigilant and use innovative surveillance tools to detect CRB incursion in the new areas. ![]() A recent potential global distribution study using the boosted regression tree model has shown that most of the humid tropics are suitable for the spread of O. rhinoceros and raises concern, particularly about invasion of the Americas (Hao et al., 2022). Since then, CRB has not been reported from the Western hemisphere in any of the invasive pest databases (CABI, 2022 EPPO, 2022) or published literature. ![]() In 2014, a single live specimen of O. rhinoceros was found at the Manzanillo harbour, Jalisco, Mexico, in a shipment of furniture imported from Indonesia (Jimenéz Quiroz et al., 2017). Several interceptions of CRB have been reported at ports and airports within the continental USA in the last 10 years largely due to an increasing trans-Pacific transport and trade (Molet, 2013). The pest was recently reported from the Pacific islands of Guam and Hawaii causing concern that it could reach the Americas (Jackson, 2015). The coconut rhinoceros beetle has coevolved with palms and is currently spreading through the palm growing areas of the Asia and many Pacific islands. Characteristic damage (v-shaped notches) to coconut palm fronds by Oryctes rhinoceros (CRB) in Solomon Islands.
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