Atala

Appearance

The Atala butterfly is a great example of aposematic coloration throughout its life cycle. The brightly colored larva or caterpillar feeds on cycads that contain a toxic secondary plant chemical which it retains in its body for life. Birds, lizards, and other animals may attempt to prey on the larvae, pupae, and adults, but find them distasteful and learn to avoid these brightly patterned insects.

The butterfly's flight is slow, unlike the swift, erratic flight of many other Lycaenidae.

Status

The Florida/United States population was at one time believed to have become extirpated due to overharvesting of its host plant, the coontie palm. It was not collected in Florida from 1937 until 1959. The Atala butterfly is now extremely common locally in southeast Florida, rebounding to the extent of almost being considered a pest, as it has begun to eat ornamental cycads planted in suburban areas. In Palm Springs, Florida, the G-Star School of the Arts has been contributing to the growth of local population numbers.

Habitat

Throughout its range, the larvae feed on a native cycad, "Zamia integrifolia", as well as "Zamia pumila" and other exotic ornamental cycads. In Cuba, the introduced cycad "Cycas revoluta" is also eaten.

Adult butterflies take flower nectar and sometimes roost in trees. Adults fly through much of the year. The natural habitat is open brushy areas and tropical hammocks, often in pine woodlands. Many populations now exist in suburban areas with ornamental cycads. Males keep close to a site with host plants, which often forms small colonies of a few individuals. The females, however, may disperse in search of more hosts.

Reproduction

Like many Lepidoptera, male atalas have hair-pencils on their abdomens used in courtship; the male hovers in front of the female, wafting pheromones exuded from the pencils in her direction. Eggs are laid in clusters of 10-50 on the leaf tips of the host plant. Larvae feed on the leaves. Pupation is usually done on the host plant.

Evolution

The species was originally described by the Cuban zoologist Felipe Poey. He named the butterfly for Atala, the Native American heroine of an 1801 French novella of the same name by Chateaubriand.