(pulelehua)
, are having trouble due predators feeding on caterpillars before they have a chance to develop into butterflies.
A release from the Department of Land and Natural Resources says entomologist Will Haines, along with the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife member, Jana Maravi, hike into protected restoration areas to place the caterpillars of the Kamehameha butterfly
onto native māmaki plants, their most common food source.
To get a better sense of why caterpillars are disappearing, during this process remote cameras are set up in trees hooked to digital video recorders. Cameras are showing non-native, introduced birds are the likely culprits, along with some ant species.