Vanessa Tameamea
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Vanessa Tameamea |
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| ( Eschscholtz , 1821) |
Vanessa tameamea is a butterfly of the genus Vanessa fromthe noble butterfly family (Nymphalidae). Besides Udara blackburni from the Bluebird family, it is the only endemic butterfly in Hawaii . Vanessa tameamea is the state insect of Hawaii and is knownas Pulelehua or lepelepe-o-Hina in Hawaiian .
features
butterfly
The butterfly resembles the admiral , but the forewing is orange instead of dark brown at the base of the wing and in the middle.
Pre-imaginal stages
The caterpillar is mostly green with a dark side stripe and a cream-colored stripe underneath. But it can also be multicolored, brown or purple, each with a yellowish side stripe. The head is body colored and has a brown spot and many white tubercles. Of the many, strongly branched red thorns with black tips, the two rear ones are particularly large.
Similar species
- Admiral ( Vanessa atalanta )
Geographical distribution and habitat
Vanessa tameamea is found in tropical mountain forests on all of the major Hawaiian islands.
Way of life
The moths suckle on sap and fly in overlapping generations all year round. The females lay the eggs one by one on the food plants of the caterpillars. The caterpillars live in leaf rolls until they are fully grown and feed on the leaves. The nettle family Pipturus albidus , Ramie ( Boehmeria nivea ), Neraudia , Touchardia and Urera have been identified as food plants .
Systematics
The closest related species within the genus Vanessa is the admiral. Based on the genetic distance, it is estimated that V. tameamea split off from its lineage about 8 million years ago. This happened well before the high Hawaiian islands formed about 5 million years ago. At that time, however, today's atolls such as Gardner Pinnacles were probably high, large islands with mountains over 1000 meters high.
supporting documents
literature
- Scott, James A .: The butterflies of North America . Stanford University Press, Stanford, California 1986, ISBN 0-8047-2013-4 , pp. 281 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Jeanne Cooper: Emblems of Hawaii a surprise to many Americans , San Francisco Chronicle, August 21, 2009
- ↑ Niklas Wahlberg, Daniel Rubinoff: Vagility across Vanessa (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae): mobility in butterfly species does not inhibit the formation and persistence of isolated sister taxa . In: Systematic Entomology . tape 36 , no. 2 . Wiley, April 2011, p. 362-370 , doi : 10.1111 / j.1365-3113.2010.00566.x ( wiley.com [accessed January 13, 2013]).
Web links
- The University of Hawai'i Insect Museum Butterfly on Hawaii ( Memento from November 2, 2003 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
- University of California, Berkeley: Kamehameha Butterfly (Vanessa tameamea) pictures of caterpillar and moth