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Part 6 – Dragonflies and Damselflies of Kalalau
Posted: October 6, 2008
The streams, pools, and waterfalls of Kalalau Valley are home to striking red and black dragonflies and damselfies found no where else in the world.
One of my favorite places to see these insect predators is between 3 adjacent ridges that descend from the cliffs of Kokee to create a narrow box canyon with two forks on the southern-side of Kalalau Valley on Kauai.
The photo above was taken from 3,500 feet up on Kalepa Ridge in Kokee which provides a good vantage point of the 3 ridges that form the box canyon with two forks.
The narrow canyon is reached by hiking up the Kalalau Valley trail and then veering off on a trail to the right that leads to Tom’s Garden. The trail to the box canyon starts ontop a small ridge alongside a stream that more or less follows the stream to its source — a spring within the box canyon.
The remnants of many terraces along the stream stand testament to the large Hawaiian community that once grew taro (kalo) in great numbers. Kalo still thrives in the pools and along the banks of the stream.
The towering spires at the entrance of the box canyon mark the start of dragonfly country. Red and black dragonflies or “pinao” in Hawaiian thrive within the wet confines between these ridges. These pinao (Nesogonia blackburni) are about two-and-a-half inches long and are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. They are distinct from many other dragonflies in that they have thin slender abdomens.
Some pinao were just as curious of me as I was of them and allowed me to get really close. I was able to take this close-up shot of how the intricate wings are attached to the thorax of the insect.
Other pinao were too preoccupied to care about my voyeurism. This pair of pinao are in the “wheel” configuration of their mating ritual.
Another great spot to see native dragonflies and damselfies is alongside the waterfalls and pools at Big Pool at the very end of the main Kalalau Valley trail.
This damselfy or “pinao ula” in Hawaiian (Megalagrion spp.) is about an inch long with a striking red and black pattern. Damselfies are much smaller and daintier than dragonflies. When damselflies land and rest, their 4 wings fold back behind them and are superimposed on each other.
Many pinao ula at Big Pool were engaged in courtship rituals. This pair of pinao ula flirted and chased each other in preparation for mating.
The pools and waterfalls of Kalalau are home to a host of native dragonflies and damselfies. If you look for them it does not take long for these fierce insect predators to appear darting over the surface of the water and hovering in the air as they go about their business.
This is the 6th blog entry in a series of posts about my Kalalau backpacking adventure with 14 HTMC friends over the Labor Day weekend. The previous (5th) entry is here and the next (7th) entry is here.
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SOURCES
Hawaiian Fresh Water Environments – Odanata