Big Island Insect Count

The Big Island Insect Count is an educational insect collecting activity which happens usually every year on a Saturday in September in the area around Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island.  The first event was held in 2004.  The count has a dual purpose:  

  1. To make the public more aware and appreciative of the ecological importance of insects and 
  2. To improve the inventory of native and introduced species in the vicinity of the Park.  


Each event features a collecting hike and frequently includes slide shows of native insects as well as demonstrations of living and preserved specimens. About half of the participants are school-age children, and HES entomologists from the Big Island and Oahu serve as guides, helping participants find and identify the insects they are photographing and collecting. 


© DOD (Darcy Oishi Designs) 2015