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Few of Hawaii’s unique species are as amazing as the 111 species of picture-wing flies that have evolved from a single female that migrated from the mainland some 5 million years ago. Hawaiian picture-wings represent one of the most remarkable cases of specific adaptation to local conditions that have been found in any group of animals on Earth; extensive study of these flies has contributed greatly to our understanding of biology and evolution. S mall insects in the Drosophilidae family, picture-wings are often called the “birds of paradise” of the insect world for their colorful wing patterns and intricate mating rituals and dances.
ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT PROFILE
PROTECTION STATUS: Eleven species of Hawaiian picture-wing flies are listed as endangered and one species as threatened
YEAR PLACED ON LIST: 2006
CRITICAL HABITAT: None
RECOVERY PLAN: None
RANGE: Each species found only on a single Hawaiian island; listed picture-wings on the islands of Oahu, Molokai, Hawaii, Kauai, and Maui
THREATS: Degradation of habitat by feral animals and invasive plants, loss of host plants, predation by introduced yellow jackets and ants, cattle grazing, and fire
POPULATION TREND: Surveys from 1965 to 1999 showed declines of all the listed picture-wing species. The hammerhead picture-wing (D. heteroneura), for instance, formerly occurred at 16 sites on four of the island of Hawaii’s five volcanoes. It disappeared from every site and was feared extinct until rediscovered at a single site on the Hualalai volcano in 1993.
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OUR CAMPAIGNS FOR HAWAIIAN PICTURE-WING FLIES
Scientists sounded warning bells in 1995 that a dozen species of Hawaiian picture-wings were on the precipice of extinction. When the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service failed to take action to protect them, the Center and the Conservation Council for Hawaiifiled a lawsuit that resulted in a 2006 settlement under which the Service agreed to protect the dozen most imperiled species of picture-wings under the Endangered Species Act. The service designated 11 species of Hawaiian picture-wing flies (Drosophila aglaia, D. differens, D. hemipeza, D. heteroneura, D. montgomeryi, D. musaphilia, D. neoclavisetae, D. obatai, D. ochrobasis, D. substenoptera, and D. tarphytrichia) as endangered, and one species (D. mulli) as threatened, and in 2006 it proposed critical habitat for 11 of the 12 flies — a total of 18 acres.
The agency was charged with finalizing critical habitat for these picture-wings by April 2007, but the 18-acre designation, for 11 species, was clearly inadequate. It was made by disgraced former Fish and Wildlife Service employee Julie MacDonald, many of whose management decisions flew in the face of both science and law and subsequently had to be reversed. The Center renegotiated the picture-wing habitat settlement with the Service to extend the deadline in anticipation of a significantly larger designation, and in November 2007, the Service proposed to effectively grant the flies an additional 9,142 acres.
Seventeen or more Hawaiian picture-wing species may already be extinct, and as many as 50 more may be in serious decline.
ACTION TIMELINE
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Contact: Jeff Miller
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