M., from Hawaii, asked:
Aloha,
During my endless search for more information on 'Native' Hawaiian Butterflies
other than the Hawaiian Monarch, I came across your name. I was wondering if you
would have any readily available information you could share with me, or perhaps
point me in the right direction. I'm not looking for anything terribly
scientific, but more on the informative and interesting-to-the-average-person
scale.
Also, I collect, preserve, and sell Hawaiian Monarchs in various life stages,
should you ever be in need of a specimen source. I hope this doesn't
offend you if you are highly sensitive to inhumane acts towards bugs. I also
raise and sell live ones, but can't ship out of the State of Hawaii; just in
case you were wondering about the 'Beautiful Live Butterflies'.
I understand you are very busy; please don't feel obligated to reply.
'O wau iho no me ke aloha,
and we said:
Aloha M,
I enjoyed your web site and was interested learning about your company. The idea
of releasing butterflies at weddings is being done in a few different cities on
the mainland, too. I think it's a cool idea and I especially like that you are
using local butterflies and releasing them only in the islands.
To set your mind at ease, I don't have a major problem with preserving
specimens. I suppose that to do this for "art's sake" is okay since it
does still teach people how to better appreciate the wonders of the BUG world.
(Of course, they're much more wondrous alive!)
If I did have a problem with any of this, it would be in capturing wild
butterflies for these things. Certainly taking animals out of the wild to be
preserved and "displayed" is distasteful. I spent about 3 years field
collecting and lab rearing monarchs at UH and I know how much work it can be.
Our field collected individuals were collected as larvae or pupae, and the
adults were released to the site of collection. We tried to have very little
impact on the fascinating, modern-day evolution of these animals.
We also did artificially breed some wild individuals to determine inheritance
patterns of various traits (see below). The resultant offspring from these
"artificial crosses" really could not be released because they were in
"unnatural" proportions.
Just food for thought.
Now the cool stuff....
I actually know little about the other Hawaiian butterflies. I did 3+ years of
research on Monarchs as an undergrad at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I
suggest you contact the Bishop Museum
on Oahu (if you haven't already!). I think they're the pros in that kind of
stuff.
But I can tell you some neat things about the Hawaiian Monarchs! You might know
some of this already...
Hawaii is the only known place in the world where a substantial proportion of
the Monarch population is WHITE. You no doubt have seen some white individuals
in your work. The research I did under Dr. John Stimson at UH focused on the
environmental factors on Oahu that supported these beauties only there. This
research was published in the British journal Heredity in 1990. I can tell you
more about the research and the citation if you want me to.
Some interesting things about monarchs, though.....
- In Hawaii, the caterpillars eat only the leaves of the Giant Crownflower (Calotropis
gigantea). This ornamental bush you might know as being very popular for
Crownflower
Leis. I imagine you seek these plants out to find butterflies when
collecting. I know that all the different Leis have certain meanings, but it
might be a nice feature as one of your Monarch release packages. And you
probably also know that the Crownflower seeds are attached to little fuzzies
which would also make a nice "release" at a ceremony and would support
new host plants for the newly released Monarchs in that area.
- Due to the genetics of the WHITE characteristic, a cross between a white male
and a white female produces all white offspring. You might find this handy if
you want to feature (for a lot of money, I imagine) a "White Monarch
Wedding." Anyone anywhere can have orange Monarchs, but these are very
rare. If you want information on how to breed them and force cross them, ask me.
It isn't difficult, but you do need to stay on top of it, and consider the
impact your releasing them might have..
- They disappear from Oahu in the dry summer months while their host-plant is
loaded with leaves. It is commonly believed that mainland Monarchs migrate to
Mexico and California during the winter because there are no milkweeds for their
caterpillars to eat. Since there's plenty of food in the summer on Oahu, you'd
expect the butterflies to be common year round. To my knowledge, where they go
in the summer has yet to be discovered.
How do you get living specimens for summer events?
Well, obviously, I could go on all day! Tell me if you want to know more and
I'll will tell you more. If you know things about these butterflies that sound
different than some of the things I've said, let me know... I've been away for
almost 10 years and it was changing fast at the time I left.
Thanks again for Askin' BUGMAN!
Enjoy all that Hawaii and stuff - I kinda miss it....
Mark
UH Class of '90!