Butterfly for a King: Saving Hawai?i's Kamehameha Butterflies

This is the story of the Kamehameha butterfly that lives in Hawaiʻi and nowhere else on Earth. After the volcanic eruptions that created the Hawaiian Islands and the arrival of plants and animals, we follow the butterfly from its landing on the islands thousands of years ago, to its being named to honor the great King Kamehameha, who united Hawaiʻ in the early 1800s, to its being selected as the state insect thanks to the efforts of fifth-grade students in 2009. This heightened interest in the Kamehameha butterfly led to the Pulelehua Project, a group of dedicated professional and citizen scientists who are working to restore the butterfly’s natural habitat and reintroduce captive-bred butterflies within their historical range. From the Sibert Medal-winning team of Susan L. Roth and Cindy Trumbore (Parrots Over Puerto Rico) comes an intriguing real-life scientific journey. Discover the captivating story of the Kamehameha butterfly and the people—young and old—who are working to ensure its survival.