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Gulf Fritillary Butterflies of Hawaii
Posted: March 6, 2008
I love to see gulf fritillary butterflies along the mountain trails of Hawaii. Their brillant orange color and irridescent white spots make them a stunning sight as they flit and flutter from flower to flower across the landscape.
Gulf fritillary butterflies (Agraulis vanillae) are not native to Hawaii — they are from the tropical and temperate zones of the Americas in Mexico and the southern half of the United States. They are also known as the “Passsion Butterfly” because they lay their eggs exclusively on various species of passion flower vines. The caterpillars accumulates a toxin from the plant which makes them poisonous to eat. Hence the bright orange color and flashy white spots to warn would-be predators.
Gulf fritillary butterflies are among the most abundant butterflies in Hawaii. They sip on the nectar of a wide range of flower species including native flowers such as lehua, ‘ilima and ilie’e.
Ohia lehua trees thrive along the spine of the Waianae Mountains. In this photo of taken along the Kanehoa-Hapapa Trail, gulf fritillary butterflies pollenate lehua flowers as they sip the nectar at the base of the blossoms. As the butterflies flutter between flowers the irridescent white spots on the underside of their wings flash and make for an eye-catching display.
Gulf fritillary butterflies are plentiful at Amy Greenwell Ethobotanic Garden in Kona on the Big Island.
This gulf fritillary butterfly rests amidst a patch of ilie’e flowers while it decides which flower to sip nectar from next.
Rival gulf fritillary butterflies “dive bomb” each other as they joust for dominance over the ilie’e patch.
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