Dendrobates auratus in Hawaii? Yep!
My wife and I took the boys to Hawaii for a much needed vacation, and it didn’t disappoint. Of course, being the poison frog nerd that I am, I was determined to find the green-and-black poison dart frog (Dendrobates auratus) on Oahu.
206 Dendrobates auratus specimens were released on Oahu in 1932 for mosquito control in the Monoa Valley. They originated from Tobaga Island, Panama. All terrestrial reptile and amphibian species in Hawaii are introduced/invasive, including the beautiful green-and-black poison dart frog. After doing extensive research, looking on iNaturalist, and talking to multiple people who’ve found them in Hawaii, I zeroed in on the Manoa Falls Trail and the Lyon Arboretum.
The first day was a bit of a recon mission. I poked around the Manoa Falls Trail to see if I could find some ideal habitat in order to increase my odds of finding the little jewels. A cloud of mosquitos followed me around, so I really don’t think the introduction of D. auratus impacted mosquito populations at all. I didn’t think about using mosquito repellant since I was only going to be briefly scoping out the area. Mosquitos love sucking my blood, so I got pounded!
The second day was very promising since some showers rolled through the target area earlier in the day. My plan was to search around the Lyon Arboretum. I loaded up my camera gear, and I made the 20-minute drive to the Lyon Arboretum/Manoa Falls Trail. When I arrived, I noticed an ominous storm cloud sitting right on top of the area. I got all of my gear ready, and as soon as I got out of the car, it started pouring! I got back in my car, and I was going to wait it out. Well, it ended up raining the entire day in the Monoa Valley.
It was down to the third and final day on Oahu, and I refused to give up. The sun came out in the morning, so I grabbed the crew and we headed to the Lyon Arboretum. It was a gorgeous day, and the conditions were absolutely perfect to find the little jewels of the rainforest. We were poking around the visitor center when I heard my niece yell out, “I think I found one!” I ran over, and sitting on a bromeliad leaf was an adult Dendrobates auratus. We were elated! After photographing the cooperative specimen, we walked around the property and ended up finding another specimen (this one was very colorful) deeper in the Lyon Arboretum.
Dendrobates auratus was the target species on the trip, and I’m really happy that we found a couple of specimens. If you decide to look for them, be sure to use copious amounts of mosquito repellant! You’re welcome.