The 'Apapane is the most abundant species of Hawaiian honeycreeper and is perhaps best known for its wide-ranging flights in search of localized blooms of ō'hi'a (Metrosideros polymorpha) flowers, its primary food source. 'Apapane are common in mesic and wet forests above 1,000 m elevation on the islands of Hawai'i, Maui, and Kaua'i; locally common at higher elevations on O'ahu; and rare or absent on Lāna'i and Moloka'i.