Kamehameha butterfly
The Kamehameha butterfly is a dark butterfly with bright reddish orange patches. It is one of only two kinds of butterflies that come only from Hawaii. It loves to fly high up in the treetops of the forest.
How fast is it?
Fun facts
It became the state insect of Hawaii in 2009 thanks to a group of fifth-grade students.
Its Hawaiian name pulelehua may mean something that floats through the air from flower to flower.
Females have three small white spots near the front of the wing, while males have orange ones.
It likes to sunbathe on top of sunny leaves.
It has become rare, and people now raise them to help them survive.
Most asked questions about Kamehameha butterfly
?What is the state insect of Hawaii?
The Kamehameha butterfly. Fifth graders helped choose it in 2009.
?What does the Kamehameha butterfly eat?
Adults drink tree sap, and the caterpillars eat leaves of māmaki and similar plants.
?Where does the Kamehameha butterfly live?
Only in Hawaii, mostly in damp forests high in the mountains.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Vanessa tameamea
- Group
- Butterflies
- Family
- Nymphalidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Nymphalidae
- Lives on
- Australia and Oceania
- Also known as
- Pulelehua
Where the facts come from
- Kamehameha butterfly (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by unknown author. Public domain, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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