A comparison of moth diversity at Kilauea (1911–1912) and Upper Waiakea Forest Reserve (1998–2000), Island of Hawaii

Abstract

A group of entomologists inventoried and recorded moths at Kilauea on the Island of Hawaii almost a century ago. I conducted similar surveys 86 years later in the nearby Upper Waiakea Forest Reserve (UWFR). Results of these surveys provide a rare opportunity to compare and contrast changes in Lepidoptera relative abundance and species diversity over long periods of time. The Kilauea and UWFR survey sites share a similar climatic regime, forest community, and elevation, but are 15 km apart. Ninety-three species of endemic moths were recorded at Kilauea during the 1911–1912 survey: more than 94 species were collected at UWFR from 1998–2000. I compared the number and species of moths collected at both locations, except for those in the genera Hyposmocoma and Eudonia. At least 20 Kilauea species were not found at UWFR, more than 42 UWFR species were absent from the Kilauea site. The UWFR survey also produced a number of new island records and several species new to science. Many moth species that were rare in 1911–12 were rare in 1998–2000, but most were still collected. The number of non-native moth species doubled since the 1911–1912 survey. UWFR survey results indicate that the native moth fauna on windward Mauna Loa is still relatively intact and that many new species await discovery.