Genome Sequencing of Vanessa tameamea Adult Male

The Kamehameha butterfly, Vanessa tameamea, an endemic species to the Hawaiian archipelago. Though it can still be found on each of the main Hawaiian islands: Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Maui, and Hawaii island, loss of habitat due fragmentation has led to its rapid decline in population size. Currently, a captive breeding program exists to curb its descent into being listed as a federally listed endangered species. This specimen is from a wild collected population from Waianae on Oahu and was sampled from a colony maintained by the University of Hawaii at Manoa.