 Palila also eat naio berries and other fruit (such as the introduced Cape gooseberry), and māmane flowers, buds, and young leaves.Additionally, they feed on caterpillars, particularly those of "Cydia" species (māmane codling moths) and more rarely on those of "Uresiphita polygonalis virescens" (māmane snout moth).These caterpillars as well as other insects, along with the very nutritious māmane seeds, provide the palila's main source of protein.