Coontie

Guides

Eumaeus atala
Atala, Atala butterfly, Atala hairstreak, coontie hairstreak
The Atala butterfly is a small, colorful lycaenid butterfly unique within its range for its aposematic coloration and exclusive association with cycad host plants. Once considered the most conspicuous insect in South Florida in 1888, it was believed extinct by the 1950s due to overharvesting of its sole native host plant, coontie (Zamia integrifolia), for starch production. Rediscovered in 1979 on a Miami barrier island, the species has recovered dramatically through conservation efforts and the popularity of coontie as an ornamental landscape plant, becoming common enough in southeast Florida to occasionally be regarded as a pest. The butterfly sequesters toxic cycasin compounds from its host, rendering all life stages unpalatable to predators.
butterfly hairstreak Lycaenidae cycad coontie Zamia aposematic-coloration chemical-defense conservation endangered-species-recovery Florida-endemic pine-rockland host-plant-specialist sequestration urban-wildlife ornamental-pest freeze-dried-diet ex-situ-conservation reintroduction fire-dependent-ecosystem native-plant-landscaping cycasin-toxicity multivoltine territorial-males coremata sound-producing-pupae