Pulelehua (Vanessa tameamea)

Kamehameha Butterfly

Endemic Butterfly

Species Information: The Kamehameha butterfly (common name) or known as Pulelehua (Hawaiian name for butterfly) is one of two endemic butterfly species (the other native butterfly is Udara blackburni) and became the State insect in 2009.  It was named in honor of Kamehameha.  Pulelehua was once abundant and widespread, but currently has been declining in distribution and population size.  Reintroduction attempts on O‘ahu has not been successful most likely due to predation.

Geographic Range: The Kamehameha butterfly is found on the main Hawaiian Islands.  Historically it was found in lowland areas, however their population is currently restricted to higher elevations due to lower abundance of host plants in lowland areas and predation by invasive invertebrates during the caterpillar stage.  https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/164011583/164012594#geographic-range (See IUCN Map for Geographic Range).

Habitat and Ecology: The Kamehameha butterfly habitat preference is wet to mesic forest and valleys.  Larvae feed exclusively on native nettles such as māmaki (Pipturus albidus) the common host plant while adults tend to feed on nectar and koa sap.

Threats: Suggested threats include: 1) declining host plants and distribution of host plants to higher elevations, 2)  predation by invasive invertebrates such as ants on larvae, 3)  predation by invasive vertebrates such as birds on larvae, 4) parasitism by invasive parasitoids wasp and flies, and 5) habitat fragmentation from human activities.

Conservation Planning: Habitat needs for pollinators include: 1) food, 2) breeding/nesting habitat, and 3) protection from land management activities such as insecticide usage (Goldenetz-Dollar et al., 2014).   In creating a habitat for pollinators, having diverse flowering plants that overlap in blooming seasons and including host plants provide food year round for adults and caterpillars, and provides nesting and caterpillar maturing sites.

References

Goldenetz-Dollar, Jolie, Brianna Borders, Eric Lee-Mäder, Mace Vaughan, Gregory Koob, Kawika Duvauchelle, and Glenn Sakamoto. 2014. Habitat planting for pollinators pacific island area.  General technical report 15-029_03. The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, Portland, Oregon.

Pulelehua Project. Photos. College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources. https://cms.ctahr.hawaii.edu/pulelehua/How-to-Identify/Kamehameha-Butterfly. Access on 29 September 2025.

Walker, A. and W. Haines. 2022. Vanessa tameamea. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022: e.T164011583A164012594. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-2.RLTS.T164011583A164012594.en. Accessed on 29 September 2025.