Entophile » Lualualei

Zelus renardii (Hemiptera: Reduviidae)

corycampora — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 09:55:38 +0000

Back in December we did another Hawaiian drosophila survey in Halona Valley, Lualualei. Since the flies we were looking for come out at sunrise and sunset, we had to set up camp at the site. We stayed for two nights and had a great time. The best thing for me, I think, was searching around for interesting insects and other critters later in the night after we finished the fly work. I found an interesting assassin bug cruising around the top of a little tree seedling, and I think I must have watched it for about a half an hour at least. At first I thought maybe it was native, but Steve (Montgomerey) informed that it was a species of Zelus, which is non-native. Nevertheless, I took a few photos.

As I was watching, it came upon a Cixiid (Oliarus). I thought for a second, when it reared up (see photo above), that I was going to witness firsthand the effects of an invasive predator on a hapless native plant feeder, but unfortunately nothing happened. The assassin bug apparently didn’t have a hit out on the Cixiid, because it then showed no interest in it. Shortly thereafter the Cixiid took flight – probably a smart move.

From Volume 3 of Zimmerman’s “Insects of Hawaii” (which, by the way, is now online at http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/handle/10125/1768 ) we read that there are 3 subfamilies of reduvids in Hawaii: Ploiariinae, Triatominae, and Harpactorinae. I think there are two native genera in the Ploinaiinae, but the other two subfamilies are completely non-native. There is a good chance this info is not quite up to date, since it is from the ’50s, so I wouldn’t take this as verified truth.

My little assassin bug, Zelus renardii, is in Harpactorinae. Evidently it has quite a reputation as a predator of leafhoppers, and over the years has earned the name of “The Leafhopper Assassin Bug.” First found in Hawaii by Perkins in 1897, it is believed to be an immigrant from Western North America.

Rambur’s forktail, Ischnura ramburii

corycampora — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:57:43 +0000

I was out at the Niulii ponds (Lualualei Valley) again a few weeks ago, and I had the opportunity to look around and take some photographs. In the small area that I was in, there were a number of interesting insects, but what caught my eye most were some damselflies fluttering around near an area with a lot of seepage. The blue spot at the tip of the abdomen on the males was a quick giveaway that they were Ischnura ramburii (Odonata: Coenagrionidae). I was excited to get some images of the them, because they didn’t seem to mind me being there so I had ample opportunity to get some good shots. Unfortunately, I was reminded of how crappy I am at photography because, for whatever reason, I just couldn’t get any good shots. They all came out a little grainy and not quite totally in focus. Anyway, here are the best shots I managed to get of the male and female:

And here is some interesting info from Dan Polhemus and Adam Asquith’s book “Hawaiian Damselflies: A Field Identification Guide” (Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu, 1996).

“Distribution: Originally distributed from Maine to Chile. Introduced to the Hawaiian Islands around 1973, and now known from Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Maui, and Hawaii. Commonly found along the margins of coastal wetlands, and around ponds at elevations up to 500 ft, but not generally a mountain species.”

“On the North American mainland two distinct female color forms are present, the orange form and a bright green form similar to the male. The latter color form was previously recorded from Hawaii (Hilton 1989), but has not been seen during the last decade, and may have died out in the islands.”

Lualualei Lycaenids

corycampora — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 09:30:03 +0000

Went hiking the other day to check out some conservation work being done by a contractor in the mountains of Lualualei Valley. Here is the view from one of the trailheads…

View of Lualualei Valley from Mikilua exclosure trailhead.

On a previous hike through this area I saw an endemic Lycaenid, Udara blackburni (Blackburn’s Blue), so I brought a camera along with hopes to get some pics. The bottom left portion of the next photo is approximate area where I saw it…

Beginning of Mikilua exclosure trail.

Unfortunately, on this occasion I did not see U. blackburni, but I did take some pictures of Tmolus echion, the Larger Lantana Butterfly. This is also a Lycaenid, but it is not native to Hawaii – it was brought into the state from Mexico in 1902 to help control lantana.