Monthly Archives: June 2016

Passion vine butterfly caterpillar

A passion vine butterfly caterpillar on the Big Island.
I took some photos of a passion vine butterfly flitting around a hedge and when I looked at them at home I noticed a distinctive caterpillar in the background. So next day, I returned, hoping it might still be there. Not to worry. The hedge was literally crawling with them. That’s when I noticed the passion vine twining through the hedge.

The spines and orange and black coloring are nature’s way of saying ‘watch out.’ This caterpillar is poisonous if eaten, not that I was tempted. They also have a voracious appetite and can defoliate a plant, especially a young one. Certainly, the ones I watched munched their way through leaves with great thoroughness.

A passion vine butterfly caterpillar chews a leaf on the Big Island.

King Kamehameha’s statue

King Kamehameha's statue in Kapaau, is draped in leis on Kamehameha Day.
King Kamehameha's statue in Kapaau, is draped in leis on Kamehameha Day.

Yesterday was Kamehameha Day, celebrating Kamehameha 1, the king who first united the Hawaiian Islands under one leader. In North Kohala this involved a parade featuring representatives of all the islands and ceremonies during which the king’s statue in Kapaau is draped with leis.

The statue in Kapaau was commissioned in 1878 for display in Honolulu. But the ship transporting it from Europe caught fire and sank off of the Falkland Islands. A replacement statue was ordered, but before it was delivered, the original turned up. It had been salvaged and sold to a junk dealer in Port Stanley. There, it was recognized by a British ship’s captain who bought it and took it to Honolulu. The statue was in poor condition after its time in the sea and some rough treatment during its salvage and subsequent transport.

In the end, the Hawaiian government decided to erect the replacement statue in Honolulu since it was in better shape. The original was restored and sent to Kohala, which is where Kamehameha 1 was born. Unlike the statue in Honolulu, which features gold gilt, the Kohala statue is painted, a local preference which persists to this day.

Better Days: Hakalau Plantation Company

One of the remaining warehouses of the old Hakalau Plantation Company.
This is one of two remaining warehouses of the old Hakalau Plantation Company at Hakalau Point. This was one of several sugarcane plantations that dominated the Big Island. The sugar mill was located nearby, in the gulch at the mouth of the river. The mill was wiped out in a tsunami in 1946 and swiftly rebuilt in the exact same place!

The mill finally closed in 1974 and now the plantation company property is up for development. Hawaii County is mulling a proposal to buy this property and preserve the site. This process will likely go on for months, possibly years. At this stage, it could go either way. One thing is certain, similar situations will continue to crop up on the Big Island: there’s a lot of coastline and most of it is prime development real estate.

For more information about Hakalau and the Hakalau Plantation Company, go to hakalauhome.com.