Updated_HB2032: Designates Pupu Kuahiwi as the official state snail.

  

HB2032:  Designates pupu kuahiwi (Laminella sanguinea) as the official state snail.

Pupu Kuahiwi:  They’re a food source for other native species — carnivorous caterpillars, and birds such as Hawaiian honeycreepers. More importantly, the snails help decompose and cycle nutrients back into the soil — an essential service in nutrient-poor Hawaiian forests. Unlike other snails that feed on plant tissue, pupu kuahiwi graze on the algae, bacteria, and fungi growing on the surface of leaves.

Now that fewer native snails inhabit the forest, hikers notice changes, says Yeung. “Old-timers say there’s a lot more fungus on trees now, so the trees are weaker.”  

 Across Hawai‘i, pupu kuahiwi disappeared, due to loss of habitat, over-harvesting by collectors, and predation by rats, Jackson’s chameleons, and rosy wolf snails.

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Update:

1/23/2020	S	The committee(s) on HOU recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes in HOU were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) S. Chang, Kanuha, Moriwaki, L. Thielen; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Fevella.
2/5/2020	S	Reported from HOU (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2349) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading and referral to JDC.
2/5/2020	S	Report adopted; Passed Second Reading and referred to JDC.