Hawaii’s state insect needs your help.
Scientists at the University of Hawaii are asking the public to keep an eye out for the Kamehameha butterfly and report its whereabouts as they try to map out populations and attempt to figure out why the insect is on the decline.
A research team from UH-Manoa’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources has launched the Pulelehua Project featuring a website, kamehamehabutterfly.com, where anyone can report sightings of the colorful winged insect with deep orange to rosy wings with white spots.
The collaborative "citizen science" study, a technique that has grown more popular in the past few years for large-scale collection of information, is being funded with $60,000 from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.
"There are just a few of us who are trying to cover the entire state, and that’s impossible, so we really need the public to get an accurate assessment of the Kamehameha butterfly," said Daniel Rubinoff, UH entomology professor and principal investigator on the project.
Anyone who sees a Kamehameha butterfly, caterpillar, egg or chrysalis is asked to submit photos and observations to the Pulelehua Project website. "Pulelehua" is the Hawaiian word for butterfly.
"The more eyeballs out there, the better," said UH researcher William Haines, also a principal investigator on the project. "Every photo is another piece in the puzzle."
Haines said researchers hope to use the information to help determine exactly what is happening to the species and why — with the aim of developing a strategy to preserve and possibly build the population.
The Kamehameha butterfly, one of only two butterflies endemic to Hawaii, was named the official state insect only five years ago after a group of Pearl Ridge Elementary School students asked the state Legislature to make the designation.
The butterflywas named in honor of the House of Kamehameha, the royal family that unified the Hawaiian Islands in 1810 and reigned until the death of Kamehameha V in 1872. The butterfly was first described by a Western scientist in 1878.
Historically, it is found on every major Hawaiian Island except Kahoolawe. However, it has disappeared from some areas where it used to be common, such as in the Tantalus area, Haines said.
The butterfly isn’t protected under federal law, but, like all native wildlife in Hawaii, it is protected by state law, and collecting the species is not allowed without a permit.
Haines said scientists would like to keep the Kamehameha butterfly off the federal endangered species list. He said scientists believe the species is declining because of loss of quality habitat and from non-native parasites and predators such as wasps, ants and birds, or probably some combination thereof.
"But we don’t have a lot of hard data on this," he said.
If you decide to head off in search of the butterfly, you probably won’t find it in urban neighborhoods or the driest of leeward regions. The Kamehameha is mostly found at higher elevations or in wet areas.
"We need help from hikers and the conservation community, anybody that’s out there, in these areas where the butterflies are found," Haines said.
The Pulelehua Project website shows how to find and identify the different life stages of the Kamehameha butterfly, with pictures of the eggs, caterpillars, chrysalises and mature adults.
The website also shows pictures of common look-alikes and the host plants where adults lay their eggs and the caterpillars live and eat. Kamehameha butterfly caterpillars are found only on the Hawaii species of the nettle family (Urticaceae), located in shady areas or gulches with native vegetation and moderate to heavy rainfall. The most common host plant is mamaki (Pipturus albidus), though the larvae will also feed on olona (Touchardia latifolia) and opuhe (Urera glabra).
The website features a map of all the sightings, which are automatically updated as new observations are submitted and confirmed.
