Butterfly for a King: Saving Hawaiʻi’s Kamehameha Butterflies

The beautiful Kamehameha butterfly lives in Hawaii and nowhere else on Earth. Named to honour the great king who united the Hawaiian Islands, the butterfly is one of only two species native to Hawaii. After the Kamehameha butterfly became the state insect - thanks to a group of fifth graders - people noticed that the butterflies were disappearing. So a team of dedicated professional and citizen scientists began working together to restore the butterfly's natural habitat and reintroduce butterflies in places where they were once found.