June is National Pollinator Month! This is a time to the critical role of pollinators in ecosystems, agriculture, and food security. DLNR Forestry & Wildlife protects multiple types of pollinators in Hawaiʻi, including bees, butterflies, moths, and birds. Our insect pollinators are protected by our Hawaiʻi Invertebrate Program. Here are a few examples of Hawaiian pollinators:

• Nalo Meli Maoli: Native Yellow-Faced Bees: these are the only bees native to Hawaiʻi. They pollinate important native plants like naio, ʻilima, and others.

• Kamehameha butterfly: This butterfly was named for King Kamehameha I and is one of two native butterflies. You can find a Kamehameha butterfly finger puppet craft on our Activities page, and a video of staff releasing Kamehameha butterflies into the forest on our Videos page.

• Blackburn’s Sphinx Moth: This native moth is one of Hawaiʻi’s largest native insects. Adults are thought to feed on the nectar of koaliawa, maiapilo, ʻilieʻeʻ, and species in the genus Ipomea, and may be pollinators for these species.

• Native birds, including our honeycreepers, can be pollinators. ʻIʻiwi, ʻapapane, and ʻapapane, for example, pollinate ʻōhiʻa lehua as they visit flowers to eat nectar.

Photo: Nalo meli maoli, Sheldon Plentovich