Hawaiian Islands - suggestions

[poisonarrow]

Hi all,

I am considering a trip to Hawaii (most probably Kauai), mainly for vacation, but was wondering if there are any good spots that one could go to collect insects? If not, no problem, the camera will be the instrument of choice

Cheers and thanks in advance
Ben

[eurytides]

I was in Kauai a few years ago, but I've never been to the other islands. Hawaii in general does not have a lot of butterfly fauna, though some species are endemic. I went in the "winter" and did not see much diversity to be honest. Gulf frits and Xuthus swallowtails were very common though, both adults and immatures. The Botanical Garden on Kauai is nice to visit.

[poisonarrow]

Cool, thank you. That sounds interesting. So probably spring is the best time. Do you know if there are any restrictions around collecting, other than those rules that apply for US? Of course national Parks and State Parks are off-limits, but what about other places?

I think the islands overall are more interesting from a vacation side of things, not so much for an expedition

Cheers
Ben

[eurytides]

I've only been to Hawaii once so I'm not sure what season is best. I mean, it's warm there all year round...but the butterflies are probably more abundant when it's wetter. I think I went during the dry season, but I'm not totally sure. And yes, definitely better for vacation than butterfly collecting. I'm also not sure about the rules regarding collecting, but I would think typical US rules since it is a US state. I don't know that there are any additional rules other than the usual.

It's a nice place to visit, less populated and more scenic. There's a chocolate growing op near the northern part of the island that I didn't visit but heard it was neat. The Botanical Garden near Poipu is scenic and there are guided tours. There's an orange tree in the parking lot where I saw ova and larvae of P. xuthus. In the garden itself, there's a huge thing of Passiflora edulis by the mango trees. A. vanillae were abundant. There are also lots of P. edulis creeping on the ground toward the left of the main path as you enter. A. vanillae larvae and eggs were abundant.

[exoticimports]

There is a tree near Whaler's beach (local name, I forgot the tourist name) that was stripped by D. plexippus and covered with larvae. Some of the adults were the dark form.

Not far from Waimea town on Waimea Canyon Dr there is a dirt road that goes down to a village by the river. Easy butterfly collecting but nothing exotic.

In January (2004?) I saw adult spingids (forgot species, but it's an endemic) on the park lodge at the top of Waimea Canyon state park. 2014 same time period, nothing but it was COLD and rainy.

Forget you not the Kauai sphinx which is known from something like 47 specimens but nothing else is known. That would be an interesting search, though likely to fail.

[rayrard]

Has anyone routinely deployed bucket traps in Kauai in the native forest looking for that Green Sphinx? It seems like most records of it are accidental or around parking lot lights. I guess the lack of lepidoptera make Hawaii a low priority for insect collectors.

[mantisboy]

I went there once too, and all I can say is cockroaches! Not just the common P. americana, but nearly all the pest species, American, German, etc., along with many more interesting species such as the Pacific Beetle Roach and a tiny dark-colored one with 2 orange spots (I foget the name). I collected 9 species of roaches when I went. Also, I'd try to get in contact with some of the entomologists at the Bishop Museum. They allowed me to look through their collections, but I only had about an hour there. That will be the place you are most likely to see Tinostoma, even if they are only specimens. I also got to see the only actual pair of O. alexandrae I've ever seen there too.