Rare state butterfly to be on display at Pearlridge Center

Hawaii’s official state insect, the rare Kamehameha butterfly, will be on display March 24 at the live Butterfly Conservatory at Pearlridge Center’s Uptown Center Court.

The conservatory will be open through April 8, but the Kamehameha butterfly, chrysalis and caterpillars will be on display only from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 24.

In 2009 the Kamehameha butterfly was named Hawaii’s official state insect. As an endemic insect, it is found nowhere else in the world except Hawaii — but its numbers are thought to be declining.

William Haines, research entomologist in the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife, will be on hand to answer questions about Kamehameha butterflies’ behavior and life cycles while educating the community about how it can help reverse butterflies’ declining numbers in the wild. Darlene Loo-McDowell, a local commercial butterfly farmer, will give advice on starting a butterfly garden at home in a backyard or even on a small lanai.

Admission to the Butterfly Conservatory is $4.50, with keiki under 2 free with a paying adult. The conservatory will be open Mondays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. It will be closed April 1 on Easter.

For more information, call Pearlridge at 203-2358.