Wekiu bug
Encyclopedia
The wēkiu bug is a species
of seed bug, endemic to Hawaii island
.
, over 12000 feet (3,657.6 m).
It is named after Puu Wēkiu, which means "topmost hill" in the Hawaiian language
, the summit peak of Mauna Kea.
Unlike most other lygaeids, which eat seed
s, it has adapted to feed on insect
s that are blown up to the top of the mountain and die. This is not as small a resource as it might seem; snow packs at the summit are often covered with hundreds of them. When the snow melts, wēkiu bugs can be found at the edge feeding on insects that drop out of the melting snow. They have an "antifreeze
" in their blood
that allows them to survive at low temperatures.
The common name is sometimes also used to refer to the closely related Nysius aa, which occupies the same niche on Mauna Loa
. It is even more poorly-known than N. wekiuicola, but appears to be in less danger since the summit of Mauna Loa is not under threat of development. Although it receives a large number of hikers, the area is largely made up of rocky lava
rather than loose cinder, and is less vulnerable to human influence.
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Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of seed bug, endemic to Hawaii island
Hawaii (island)
The Island of Hawaii, also called the Big Island or Hawaii Island , is a volcanic island in the North Pacific Ocean...
.
Description
The wēkiu bug is flightless and inhabits the summit area of Mauna KeaMauna Kea
Mauna Kea is a volcano on the island of Hawaii. Standing above sea level, its peak is the highest point in the state of Hawaii. However, much of the mountain is under water; when measured from its oceanic base, Mauna Kea is over tall—significantly taller than Mount Everest...
, over 12000 feet (3,657.6 m).
It is named after Puu Wēkiu, which means "topmost hill" in the Hawaiian language
Hawaiian language
The Hawaiian language is a Polynesian language that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language of the state of Hawaii...
, the summit peak of Mauna Kea.
Unlike most other lygaeids, which eat seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s, it has adapted to feed on insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s that are blown up to the top of the mountain and die. This is not as small a resource as it might seem; snow packs at the summit are often covered with hundreds of them. When the snow melts, wēkiu bugs can be found at the edge feeding on insects that drop out of the melting snow. They have an "antifreeze
Antifreeze
Antifreeze is a freeze preventive used in internal combustion engines and other heat transfer applications, such as HVAC chillers and solar water heaters....
" in their blood
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
that allows them to survive at low temperatures.
Conservation
The stability of wēkiu bug populations has been a matter of controversy. Development of the summit area of Mauna Kea for telescopes has adversely affected the ecology of the area, including compaction of the loose cinder and spills of chemicals used in maintaining the telescopes. Although the bugs inhabit other cones that are not being built on, hiking and other human activity can have a serious impact on them. An early wēkiu bug survey using lethal pitfall traps collected an unexpectedly large number of specimens, and was accused of depleting the population. Later surveys funded by telescope owners were alleged to have underplayed the impact of development on the bugs. Monitoring of the population, now using non-lethal trapping methods, is ongoing. One difficulty with using baited traps is the limited movement of individuals; a trap immediately adjacent to a melting snowpack may obtain several specimens, while one just a few feet away gets none. Although a petition was filed to list it as an endangered species, in October 2011 the US government declined to designate it as endangered.The common name is sometimes also used to refer to the closely related Nysius aa, which occupies the same niche on Mauna Loa
Mauna Loa
Mauna Loa is one of five volcanoes that form the Island of Hawaii in the U.S. state of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean, and the largest on Earth in terms of volume and area covered. It is an active shield volcano, with a volume estimated at approximately , although its peak is about lower than that...
. It is even more poorly-known than N. wekiuicola, but appears to be in less danger since the summit of Mauna Loa is not under threat of development. Although it receives a large number of hikers, the area is largely made up of rocky lava
Lava
Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...
rather than loose cinder, and is less vulnerable to human influence.
Further reading
i island (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Lygaeidae) |journal=International Journal of Entomology |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=47–55 |url=http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/pi/pdf/25%281%29-47.pdf |format=PDFPortable Document Format
Portable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
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