Acacia heterophylla 1.4 million years ago. "A. heterophylla" sequences nest within those of the more diverse "A. koa", making the latter species paraphyletic. Both species are descended from an ancestral species in Australia, presumably their sister species, "Acacia melanoxylon"; the means of dispersal to Hawaii and then to Réunion (the latter trip a distance of 18,000 km) is thought to have been seed-carrying by birds such as petrels (the seeds of these species are not adapted for prolonged immersion in seawater). Both species also have very similar ecological niches, which differ from that of "A. melanoxylon". Acacia heterophylla Acacia heterophylla, the highland
ʻApapane Lānai. Apapane generally feed on nectar from flowers, preferably from the "ōhia lehua" ("Metrosideros polymorpha") tree. These birds are mainly found in "koa" ("Acacia koa") and "ōhia lehua" forests where the flower count is high. Although primarily nectarivorous, the diet of a grown apapane also includes a variety of insects like grasshoppers, caterpillars and bugs of all sorts. The breeding season is from January through July. The nest of the apapane is usually placed in the crown of a "ōhia lehua" ("Metrosideros polymorpha"); nests have been found in tree cavities and lava tubes as well as in the top of