Kamehameha butterfly
Vanessa tameamea
Vanessa tameamea is a butterfly of the genus Vanessa in the family Nymphalidae ( Nymphalidae ). Besides Udara blackburni of the family Lycaenidae he is the only endemic butterfly species in Hawaii. Vanessa tameamea is the state insect of Hawaii and is referred to as Hawaiian Pulelehua or Lepelepe -o- Hina.
- 5.1 Literature
- 5.2 Notes and references
Features
Butterfly
The moth is similar to the Admiral, the forewing but at the wing base and in the middle of orange instead of dark brown.
Preimaginal stages
The caterpillar is mostly green with a dark side strips and a cream-colored stripes including. However, it can also be multi-colored, brown or violet shade, each with a yellow side stripes. The crown has the body color and a brown stain and many white tubercles. Of the many, highly branched red spines with black tips, the rear two are particularly large.
Similar Species
- Admiral (Vanessa atalanta )
Geographical distribution and habitat
Vanessa tameamea is found in tropical mountain forests before on all the major Hawaiian Islands.
Way of life
The moths suck plant sap and fly throughout the year over in overlapping generations. The females lay eggs singly on the food plants of the caterpillars. The caterpillars live in leaf rollers until they are fully grown and feed on leaves. As a food plant the Nettle family Pipturus albidus, ramie ( Boehmeria nivea ), Neraudia, Touchardia and Urera are detected.
System
The closest related species within the genus Vanessa is the admiral. Based on the genetic distance is estimated that V. tameamea has cleaved prior to about 8 million years of its line. This was well before have formed the high Hawaiian islands about 5 million years ago. At this time, however, were probably present atolls such as Gardner Pinnacles high, large islands with mountains over 1000 meters altitude.