{"id":150898,"date":"2021-10-31T09:30:42","date_gmt":"2021-10-31T19:30:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=150898"},"modified":"2021-11-02T11:11:55","modified_gmt":"2021-11-02T21:11:55","slug":"increase-in-wekiu-bug-survey-on-maunakea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2021\/10\/31\/increase-in-wekiu-bug-survey-on-maunakea\/","title":{"rendered":"More than seven-fold increase in w\u0113kiu bug survey on Maunakea"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 3<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><div class=\"responsive-video-wrap-post\"><figure class=\"wp-block-embed wp-block-embed-youtube is-type-video is-provider-youtube epyt-figure\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\"><iframe  id=\"_ytid_72331\"  width=\"620\" height=\"349\"  data-origwidth=\"620\" data-origheight=\"349\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/nJQkq3jh8jk?enablejsapi=1&origin=https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu&rel=0&autoplay=0&cc_load_policy=0&cc_lang_pref=&iv_load_policy=1&loop=0&fs=1&playsinline=0&autohide=2&theme=dark&color=red&controls=1&disablekb=0&\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  no-lazyload\" title=\"More than seven-fold increase in w\u0113kiu bug survey on Maunakea\"  allow=\"fullscreen; accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div>\n<p>The population of the endemic w\u0113kiu bug, which can only be found on <span aria-label=\"puu\">pu&#699;u<\/span> (cinder cones) on the summit of Maunakea, remains healthy according to the insect captures recorded during the University of <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Hawai&#699;i<\/span> at Hilo <a href=\"https:\/\/hilo.hawaii.edu\/maunakea\/\">Center for Maunakea Stewardship\u2019s<\/a> (<abbr>CMS<\/abbr>) annual arthropod monitoring surveys this year. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed the w\u0113kiu from the candidate endangered species list in 2011 after <abbr>CMS<\/abbr> land stewards compiled years of research on the insect\u2019s biology, genetics and habitat, assuring its conservation and protection.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_150965\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-150965\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/wekiu-bug-survey-1-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"bug on a rock\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-150965\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/wekiu-bug-survey-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/wekiu-bug-survey-1-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/wekiu-bug-survey-1.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-150965\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">W\u0113kiu perched on a rock on Maunakea.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This year, <abbr>CMS<\/abbr> land managers collected nearly 3,000 bugs from the live traps compared to about 400 bugs in the last two years. According to <abbr>CMS<\/abbr>, the increased abundance of captures this year could be a function of increased precipitation on the mountain this past year, as moisture is a limiting factor in the alpine ecosystem.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Our commitment to monitoring native species on Maunakea goes beyond overseeing their condition and status,&rdquo; said <strong>Greg Chun,<\/strong> <abbr>CMS<\/abbr>\u2019 executive director. &ldquo;We are deeply devoted to the protection and safeguarding of these precious species that live and breathe within this wahi pana.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2>Commitment to stewardship on Maunakea<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_150968\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-150968\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/wekiu-bug-survey-cinder-cone-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"Maunakea cinder cone\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-150968\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/wekiu-bug-survey-cinder-cone-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/wekiu-bug-survey-cinder-cone-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/wekiu-bug-survey-cinder-cone.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-150968\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tiny dots in the photo resemble two researchers climbing a massive 200 foot tall cinder cone on Maunakea to assess w\u0113kiu bugs.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Every year, <abbr>CMS<\/abbr> places a variety of traps at more than 100 sites on the mauna to assess native species population levels and detect possible threats. Some trap locations require researchers to climb cinder cones that are 200-feet high. Each bug, no bigger than a grain of rice, is counted by hand in the field before they are released. The <abbr>CMS<\/abbr> team also notates each bug\u2019s life stage and gender. All life stages and sexes were captured during the 2021 survey which infers that populations are growing and reproducing.<\/p>\n<p>In 2011, <abbr>CMS<\/abbr>\u2019 studies determined that the w\u0113kiu bug had a wider habitat range in the Alpine Stone Desert than previously known.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Related <abbr title=\"东精影业\">东精影业<\/abbr> News stories:\n<ul>\n<li> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2021\/05\/11\/maunakea-native-plant-restoration-efforts\/\">Native plant restoration efforts progressing on Maunakea<\/a>, May 11, 2021<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2020\/02\/11\/protect-mamane-on-maunakea\/\">Volunteers protect precious m\u0101mane on Maunakea, remove invasive weeds<\/a>, February 11, 2020<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2021\/08\/23\/wekiu-bug-research-on-maunakea\/\">Grad student conducts in-depth arthropod research on Maunakea<\/a>, August 23, 2021<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&ldquo;We\u2019re monitoring <span aria-label=\"puu\">pu&#699;u<\/span> in the summit region for w\u0113kiu bug abundance, distribution and demography to understand if these insects are reproducing and growing,&rdquo; said <strong>Jessica Kirkpatrick<\/strong>, <abbr>CMS<\/abbr>\u2019 natural resource specialist. &ldquo;We\u2019re also trying to get a sense of different invasive species threats that could potentially threaten the bug, things like ants are actually a number one threat to both the flora and fauna on the mountain.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_150970\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-150970\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/wekiu-bug-survey-mating-pair-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"2 bugs on rock\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-150970\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/wekiu-bug-survey-mating-pair-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/wekiu-bug-survey-mating-pair-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/wekiu-bug-survey-mating-pair.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-150970\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A pair of mating w\u0113kiu bugs.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Kirkpatrick believes above average snow and rain events on Maunakea in 2020 and early 2021 could be a contributing factor to the increase in w\u0113kiu bug abundance. Insect populations are extremely variable from year to year and the w\u0113kiu bug shows this same trend.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Nightly freezing temperatures are important for the insect, as the cold kills their prey,&rdquo; Kirkpatrick explained. &ldquo;The w\u0113kiu bug is a carnivorous scavenger that feeds on dead and dying insects that get blown up to the summit via wind processes. Non-resident insects are not adapted to the cold temperatures and eventually die and become food for the w\u0113kiu bug and other endemic residents such as the noctuid caterpillar\/ moth (Agrotis kuamauna).The snow can act as a natural refrigerator keeping the wind blown insect prey fresh until it thaws and can be consumed by other native residents.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2>Survival of the fittest<\/h2>\n<p>In the Hawaiian language, w\u0113kiu means summit or peak. The bugs are well-adapted to the mountain\u2019s harsh environment that experience extreme temperature fluctuations each day, high ultraviolet radiation and low relative humidity associated with high-altitude environments. <abbr>CMS<\/abbr> has monitored the w\u0113kiu bug since 2002.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.malamamaunakea.org\/environment\/invasive-species\">Learn more about the Maunakea Invasive Species Management Plan.<\/a><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_150967\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-150967\" style=\"width: 676px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/wekiu-bug-survey-2.jpg\" alt=\"bugs on rock\" width=\"676\" height=\"381\" class=\"size-full wp-image-150967\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/wekiu-bug-survey-2.jpg 676w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/wekiu-bug-survey-2-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/wekiu-bug-survey-2-130x73.jpg 130w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-150967\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The w\u0113kiu are approximately the size of a grain of rice.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><abbr>CMS<\/abbr> land managers collected nearly 3,000 bugs from the live traps compared to about 400 bugs in the last two years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,12],"tags":[1511,364,659,14,56],"class_list":["post-150898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","category-video","tag-center-for-maunakea-stewardship","tag-entomology","tag-maunakea","tag-uh-hilo","tag-video-2","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150898"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150898\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":151140,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150898\/revisions\/151140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=150898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}