This Week in Nature: The 4th week in September - happy face spiders

What's Happening in Hawaii

during the 4th week in September:

  Can you spot 2 happy face spiders on the underside of this leaf?
Photo: C. Tucker

Hawaiian happy face spiders (Theridion grallator) are rearing their young in 'ōhi'a forests of Maui, Moloka'i, O'ahu, and Hawai'i. Living under the sheltering leaves of kōpiko, pū'ahanui, and other plants, this native spider stays out of sight of insects and birds that prey on it.

There are dozens of different marking displayed by happy face spiders. Though its comical markings might seem hard to miss, in the forest light they serve as camouflage, and humans overlook the tiny happy face, too.

"Adult and keiki eating syrphid on Myrsine at Auwahi, Maui, Hawaii"
Photo by Forest & Kim Starr

The happy face spider; Theridion grallator, is now also known by the Hawaiian name nananana makaki'i. After its discovery by scientists in 1900, it was lost again for three quarters of a century.

Very few spiders display parental behavior, but the happyface spends as long as three months caring for its offspring. A mother shares her leaf with the young and feeds them small flies that seek refuge under the leaf when it rains. Detecting a fly on top of the leaf in good weather, she will creep to the edge and throw a web to snare it.  

To learn more about spiders in Hawai'i, visit the Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy spider page.

Also, visit the HEAR.org spider page.

Taken from "Hawaii: A Calendar of Natural Events"

published by the Bishop Museum and Kamehameha Schools in 1989

 

See a Snake? Don't Wait - Report a Pest!

Hawaii residents are urged to use the new pest hotline to promptly report sightings of invasive pests such as snakes, unusually aggressive stinging ants, and illegal or unknown animals.

643-PEST (7378)

Click here for a handy jingle to help you remember the number.

The new Pest Hotline number, 643-PEST (7378), can be dialed from any island in the state, without dialing a “1” or an area code. This Pest Hotline is also the Amnesty Line, where people can turn in illegal animals without fear of prosecution.

The new Pest Hotline relies on a computer program to route calls to the nearest Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA) office during normal business hours. On weekends or afterhours, calls are routed automatically to the HDOA office at the Honolulu International Airport, which is staffed 20 hours a day, seven days a week.

The implementation of the new number means that neighbor island callers will NOT incur toll charges as they have in the past when calling the original pest hotline, 586-PEST. The original pest hotline will continue to be operational. An existing HDOA database used to log interceptions of pests at airports and harbors has been modified to also log pest hotline reports.

For more about invasive species and pests in Hawaii, including a guide to high profile invasive species with photos, visit www.HawaiiInvasiveSpecies.org

Click here to watch short videos about pest species and how you can help "Stop the Silent Invasion."

Pictured above, clockwise from top left: Brown Tree snake, Miconia, Coqui frog, and Little Red Fire ant.

Native Species of the Week - Pulelehua; Kamehameha Butterfly

Announcing Hawaii's official state insect!

Pulelehua, the Kamehameha butterfly (Vanessa tameamea), was announced as Hawaii's official State insect on April 23rd 2009.

The Kamehameha butterfly (Vanessa tameamea)
Photo: DOFAW

Pulelehua's host plant, Mamaki (Pipturus albidus), is an endemic nettle. These two species have evolved together and rely on each other for survival.

Mamaki fruit and leaves at Hoolawa Farms, Maui.

Photo by Forest & Kim Starr

There is a new book called "Pulelehua and Mamaki" by Janice Crowl, which is a story about the relationship between these two special species.

There are only two butterflies native to Hawaii. The other is called Blackburn's blue, (Udara blackburni), and is pictured below.

Blackburn's blue butterfly (Udara blackburni)
Photo: DOFAW

Hawaii supports 955 species of native moths, but there are only 2 native Hawaiian butterflies. This is thought to be a result of the fact that moths are typically generalists, and butterflies depend on a specific host plant. As a side note, moths native to Hawaii are very small, with most only having a wingspan of 1 centimeter or less!


Native butterflies in Hawaii rely on native plants for important stages of their life cycles, which means there needs to be native areas containing native plants in order for these butterflies to survive.



To learn more about native Hawaiian butterflies and moths, and to read about what is being done to protect them, visit the Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy insect fact sheet.


For more information about butterflies and other native and non-native insects in Hawaii, visit the HEAR.org insect site.