Conservation Status and Research on the Fabulous Green Sphinx of Kaua'i, Tinostoma smaragditis (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae), Including Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the Diverse Mesic Forests of Kaua'i, Hawai'i

Abstract

In 1895, a moth was captured in a mountain home in Makaweli, Kaua'i, that would captivate and elude entomologists for the next century. Tinostoma smaragditis (Meyrick), aptly nicknamed the "Fabulous Green Sphinx of Kaua'i" is a stunningly beautiful moth with green wings and thorax, pale brown hind wings, and orange antennae. Eighteen individuals are known to have been collected on Kaua'i. However, despite extensive searches in areas around Koke'e, all the specimens discovered until the 1990s were incidental catches, and the natural habitat and host plant of the moth remained unknown. This study describes the results of extensive searches of the diverse mesic forests with the aim of establishing range, habitat, and host-plant associations of the Fabulous Green Sphinx. In February 1998 a male T smaragditis was attracted to a mercury vapor light set up in the diverse mesic forest. Subsequently, one other specimen was collected in a similar habitat type on another part of the island. However, the host plant of the moth remains unknown. In this paper we provide a history of collections, a summary of known biology, and a guide to potential host plants, including checklists of vascular plants found in the diverse mesic forests of two locations where T smaragditis was found, Kalalau and Mahanaloa Valleys on Kaua'i