Kona Coffee and the Gulf Frippilary Butterfly

    Having failed to get my paper mache fish into the Portland Art Museum or the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), I have decided to lower the bar to a more attainable height: roughly six feet, which is the width of the display case in the Kailua Kona branch of the Hawaii State Library.  Having exhausted my Kona audience with two previous shows involving realistic paper mache reef

The Kamehameha Butterfly courtesy of UH.  A Hawaiian endemic

fish, I have decided on a new endeavor. Or Endeavour, if you favour the spelling of Cook's first ship in which he circumnavigated...not the benighted vessel that he piloted to his demise in Kealakekua Bay.  That was the Resolution.  As in, "I resolve not to argue with natives bearing edged weapons."

    But I digress.

     The new plan involves creating realistic replicas of the butterflies of Hawaii.  I am waiting for the head librarian, Denise, to return from the mainland to confirm my booking. You, my faithful audience, will be among the first to know of the confirmed engagement.

     My butterflies were initially inspired by Bob and Kim Hillis and their quest to see the Kamehameha butterfly,  Vanessa tameamea.   This brown and orange beauty is endemic to Hawaii and infrequently seen.  To the best of my knowledge, neither the Hillis's nor your faithful correspondent have seen the Kamehameha, but it is now rendered, magnificently, in paper mache and

The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. 

acrylic paint.

    Following the Kamehameha, I churned out a black witch moth,  Ascalapha odorata,  that humongous dark moth that is sometimes mistaken for a bat.  The black witch is found in North and South America and, although wikipedia states that it is not native, it has been here long enough to find its way into Hawaiian lore.  In Mexico it is known as mariposa muerte,  the butterfly of  death. Hawaiians, ever optimistic, view it as the spirit of a beloved departed coming to say goodbye.

   At about the same time, I crafted an Asian Swallowtail, which is much the same as the tiger swallowtail of the mainland only without the yellow.  This species is native to Hawaii and found all over the Pacific.  Papilio xuthus is found from eastern Siberia, across Southeast Asia and the Pacific, all the way to these very Sandwich Islands.  Although it is not introduced, suffice it to say it is hardly an endemic.

Orange Sulfur butterflies on the Beach at City of Refuge.  One of our favorites.

    Last year I made an orange sulfur butterfly, commonly seen at the beach, and an eastern tiger swallowtail.  These last two were presented as a gift to our friend Stacey Bierlein, who loves butterflies and even has one tattooed on her....shoulder.  Perhaps she will be kind enough to loan them back for the exhibit.  Assuming that there is an exhibit.

    Last week we really got into the lepidopteran  spirit and cranked out a monarch, which if I say so myself is really beautiful, if a bit larger than life, and a koa butterfly.  The monarch,  Danaus plexippus, is the species that is most frequently seen in the garden at Casa Ono.  When one thinks of  monarchs, they might recall the population from eastern North America  that migrates to the pine woods south of Mexico City.  This latter habitat is under pressure from human encroachment and hence that population of monarch is in danger.  The population from western North America has a wintering ground in Pacific Grove, just south of Monterey, Ca. Were it

Recently created Monarch and Koa Butterflies. 

not for our current commander in thief, this might be a safer place than the highlands of Mexico.  The population in Hawaii, and on other Pacific islands, is non-migratory, so we get to enjoy this colorful species all year. 

  I also made a koa butterfly, a small blue species. The koa is an endemic that lives in the  rain forest of the Hamakua coast.

    As you might guess, I have run out of butterflies that I have actually seen in Hawaii and have resorted to working with colorful species that the internet identifies as Hawaii residents. The Gulf fritillary butterfly is roughly the size of a monarch and a beautiful creature if one is to judge by the pictures seen on the internet.  It is native to Florida and the Caribbean.  Like so many of our animals, it is introduced.  The internet stated that it was to be found at the Amy Greenwell Gardens in Kealakekua, a place near and dear to our coffee loving hearts. 

An orchid growing in the trees at Greenwell's

     So this Sunday we made it up to Greenwell's for some coffee tasting and butterfly hunting.   We met three ladies of a certain age who were acting as docents.  None had seen the Gulf fritillary butterfly.  But the one that was most interested, a Japanese lady named Chai, took us to the orange trees where Sandra was the first to find a chameleon.  It was exactly the color of the branch.  A bit later, on the other tree, a couple tourists found a handsome green chameleon. These were both males with three horns.

    After chameleon watching Chai broke the bad news to us.  The County of Hawaii has acquired the Greenwell Garden, which I believe was previously run by the coffee growing family, and closed it to the public.  So much for butterfly hunting where the flowers are better.  Before we went home, Sandra and I drove by garden, which is just down the road from the coffee tasting. The sign is gone and there is no indication that one might be welcome to pursue his nature watching.

If you have a hot tip for a Gulf Fritillary Butterfly send it along!

    Our new friend did have something else to add.  I have wondered for some time why these fancy (or at least expensive) Kona coffees just taste like plain old coffee to me.  Chai said that like wine, there are many different smells and flavors that can be detected in the coffee, up to 1200 if she is to be believed.  She agreed with me that the flavors are quite subtle in the beverage.  However, she noted that the aromas are far more obvious in freshly ground beans.  She rattled off a handful:  tropical fruit, chocolate, vanilla and tobacco.  If its like wine tasting, the list probably runs to things like coyote urine and yesterday's socks.  Next time you grind your beans you should enjoy the aroma of the grind before subjecting it to hot water.   

   But let's not leave it at that.  Imagine that you are sitting at a picnic table up at Greenwell's.  The sun is out, the sky is blue and there is a gulf fritillary butterfly perched on a cup of chameleon roast.  That's what I call living the Hawaiian dream.  See you there.

jeff

Stop in a Greenwell's for some coffee and a chameleon.  this female was photographed last year.