Atala Butterfly

Yes, the Atala butterfly was thought to be extinct by the 1930s after its host plant, the coontie palm (Zamia integrifolia), was nearly eradicated from South Florida through overharvesting. The butterfly was rediscovered in subsequent decades and has since made a significant recovery, particularly in protected areas of Florida.

The Atala butterfly's caterpillar feeds exclusively on coontie, Zamia integrifolia, a small cycad native to Florida and the Caribbean. The caterpillars absorb toxic compounds called cycasins from the plant, which make both the larvae and adult butterflies poisonous to most predators.

The Atala butterfly is found in southern Florida, the Bahamas, Cuba, and other Caribbean islands. In Florida, its strongest populations are concentrated in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties, where landscapers have increasingly planted coontie as an ornamental.

The Atala is a small butterfly with velvety black wings decorated with iridescent blue-green scaling, a bright red-orange abdomen, and distinctive blue spots on the hindwings. Its vivid coloration serves as warning coloration to predators, signaling that it contains toxic cycasin compounds absorbed from its host plant.