''Udara blackburnii'', the Blackburn's bluet, green Hawaiian blue or Hawaiian blue, is a

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprise ...

in the family

Lycaenidae Lycaenidae is the second-largest family of butterflies (behind Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies), with over 6,000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies. They constitute about 30% of the known butterf ...

. It is endemic to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan o ...

is 22–29 mm. The larvae feed on '' Acacia'' species (including ''

Acacia koa ''Acacia koa'' or commonly known as koa is a species of flowering tree in the family Fabaceae. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, where it is the second most common tree. The highest populations are on Hawaii, Maui and Oahu. Name The name ...

''), ''

Pithecellobium ''Pithecellobium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek words πίθηκος (''pithêkos''), meaning "ape" or "monkey," and ἐλλόβιον (''ellobion''), meaning "earring," which ...

'', ''

Samanea saman ''Samanea saman'', also sometimes known as the rain tree, is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, now in the Mimosoid clade and is native to Central and South America. Its range extends from Mexico south to Peru and Brazi ...

'', '' Perottetia sandwicensis'', ''

Dodonaea viscosa ''Dodonaea viscosa'', also known as the broadleaf hopbush, is a species of flowering plant in the '' Dodonaea'' (hopbush) genus that has a cosmopolitan distribution in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate regions of Africa, the Americas, sout ...

'' and ''

Pipturus albidus ''Pipturus albidus'', known as ''māmaki'' (sometimes ''waimea'', for its resemblance to olomea) in Hawaiian and known as Waimea pipturus in English, is a species of flowering plant in the nettle family, Urticaceae, that is endemic to Hawaii. ...

''. ''Udara blackburni'' is also known as the Koa Butterfly. It is one of two butterflies that are native to Hawai'i. These butterflies have outer wings that are blue, while their inner wings are green and they are only about an inch in length.

Description and Biology

These butterflies have a wingspan of about an inch. The upper sides of their wings are blue and they usually display their wings upright to show the underside of their wings which are green. They feed on the flower nectar with their long coiled up proboscis but the caterpillars feed on the Koa tree and the ‘a'ali'i, olomea, and mamaki plants.

Distribution and Habitat

This species is endemic to Hawai'i and can be found on the islands of Kaua'i, Oahu, Maui, Molaka'i, Lana'i, and Hawai'i Island. The only two islands that don’t have these butterflies are Ni'ihau and Kaho’olawe.

Cultural Significance

Native insects developed a lot of cultural meaning to Polynesians in the Hawaiian Islands

References

External links

Images of ''Udara blackburnii''Butterflies and Moths of North America: ''Udara blackburnii''
Udara Endemic fauna of Hawaii Butterflies of Oceania Insects of Hawaii {{Polyommatini-stub