Biologist Account: Heather:
"“Mokeehia was the first of 4 Maui islets that we would attempt to survey on this trip. It was also our first helicopter access and we were excited. Our pilot had never landed on any islets and we were unsure of what to expect. The flight was a short one – a quick trip between Kahalui and west Maui – and then the pilot was asking “is that your islet?” I had only seen pictures before and in reality this islet looked smaller, steeper, and essentially devoid of vegetation. “Umm, yeah, I think that’s it, I replied wondering what we had gotten ourselves into.” We circled the islet to look for a decent landing zone and found one on the lower slopes of the islet. The pilot set the helicopter down and we scrambled out with our gear in a flurry of dust. Then he was gone and we stood a little dazed - surrounded by sea cliffs and pounding surf, no signs of civilization. We gathered our gear and set off to find a semi-flat area to use as a base camp. We were immediately assaulted by the howling winds, which whipped the islet’s powdery soils at us leaving us partially blind. We wouldn’t be able to see clearly until leaving the islet the next day. The fine soil and steep terrain was pocked with burrows making walking a real challenge. At last, we found a place to set our gear under some jagged lava rocks. We extracted our collecting gear and set off to survey the islet. Me and Jiny performed the botanical survey and set our bug traps while David headed in the opposite direction to search for bugs. There were pockets of plant life and we focused our collecting around these areas. There were 6 species of ant on the islet and I received some nasty stings. Our sweep nets were fairly useless in the high winds, but we were able to collect some flying insects that were resting on the ground. As we approached the summit, the shearwater burrows appeared to be scultped by Gaudi – like a Gaudi apartment complex. It was really neat, but the winds along the summit ridge were even more intense. Occasional gusts were so strong that I feared being thrown off the 165 foot cliffs. We finally reached the end of the islet and stood facing the cliffs of West Maui for an amazing view. It was a pretty small distance that separated the islet, but the tall cliffs and treacherous waters made an effective barrier. We continued to collect until nightfall when we paused for a brief dinner of nutrition bars and dusty apples. As we prepared for our night survey, the winds picked up and the rains came in. As I tried to explain to a friend, there really is nowhere to put a tent on the islet. You’ll just have to trust me on this. David put on his Gortex suit while me and Jiny put on rain jackets and wrapped ourselves in a shower curtain (yes, a shower curtain), which we brought for collecting bugs. She remembered that she had packed swim goggles for one of our surveys and added those to the ensemble to keep dust out of her eyes. We must have been a sight, but were so exhausted that we didn’t think to take a picture. It was a long night sleeping on the sharp rocks, pelted by dust and rain alternately, and the shower curtain continually coming loose and flapping furiously in our faces. But we survived. The next morning we collected our traps, packed our gear, and waited for our next adventure.”

Intern Account: Jiny:
"Mokeehia, is the first of the four islets we were scheduled to study on Maui. We accessed the island via helicopter. It was very windy and powdery dirt was flying everywhere. Our first mission was to set out our two types of traps; the pitfall and bowl methods using old bleu cheese. We also collected various insects using our aspirators on host plants. We did not find much vegetation on the islet; much of the grasses and shrubs were dried out. That night there were occasional rain showers but, not for long periods. The next morning we set out to collect our previous days’ traps. This islet was very difficult to work in. The wind was very strong and the dirt was flying everywhere. There were many wedge-tailed shearwater burrows, so it looked like it was very good for burrowing. However, there were also many abandoned eggs and non-active nests. The helicopter came back to pick us up at about 9:30am to take us to Moku Mana. We were unable to land due to the strong winds. We surveyed the island for other possible landing options for a future visit."