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Atala (Eumaeus atala)

Family: Lycaenidae
FNAI State Rank: S2

Range: Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties
Seasonal Occurrence: year-round

Habitat: anywhere its host plants are found, including in urban gardens
Host Plants: coontie (Zamia pumila) and other ornamental cycads

The Atala caterpillar is striking and easy to recognize. Dense colonies of this caterpillars can kill an entire coontie stand.

Information on seasonal occurrence and host plant in Florida is extracted from Glassberg et al. (2000) Butterflies through Binoculars: Florida, Oxford University Press, and Cech et al. (2005) Butterflies of the East Coast: An Observer's Guide, Princeton University Press.