Blackburnia (Colpocaccus) lanaiensis

Blackburnia (Colpocaccus) lanaiensis (Sharp)

Distribution. Known only from two historical collectors, Perkins (1894) and Giffard (1908) (Fig. 5E). The Fauna Hawaiiensis specimens collected by Perkins were in his lots (corresponding data in parentheses, Anonymous N.D.): 80 (‘‘Lanai 2.000 ft I ’94’’), 83 (‘‘Lanai, behind Koele, about 2.000 ft. ’94’’), 86 (Lanai, above 2.000 ft. I. ’94’’), 87 (Lanai, behind Koele, II. ’94) and 94 (‘‘Lanai nr. Koele. I. ’94’’). Koele was the site of the main house on Lanai, and ‘‘behind Koele’’ corresponds to the large valley that opens to the northeast; Kaiholena Gulch. This valley extends southeast to head just north of Puu Alii at 865 m elevation, suggesting Perkins collected his B. lanaiensis specimens in this valley near 600 m elevation on the way to and from the high forest. This interpretation is bolstered by definitively labeled specimens of native Delphacidae collected by Munro in Kaiholena Gulch at 600 m (Muir 1917). Brown (1900) indicates a stream in the base of this valley that is marked upward to approximately 550 m. Giffard (1908) collected his single B. lanaiensis specimen ‘‘from under stones,’’ labeling the specimen ‘‘20009 Kaua Val.’’ (BPBM), interpreted as the present-day Kahua Gulch northwest of Koele at 610 m. Brown’s (1900) map of Lanai indicates a road along the northern rim of Kahua Gulch that would have provided direct access to the head of this valley from Giffard’s accommodations at the Koele Ranch house.

Habitat. The known records on Lanai place this species as a terrestrial inhabitant of stream margins. The species is extant on Molokai and Maui where it occurs in riparian or streamside habitats (Liebherr and Zimmerman 2000). The head of Kahua Valley is currently placed within the dry forest community (Fig. 1), whereas Kaiholena Gulch lies within the mesic forest community.