Atala Butterfly Fluttering Back from Near Extinction

The Atala Butterfly flutters low and slow, just like a moth and is small, about the size of a quarter. It has iridescent blue-green upper wings that shimmer with bright red spots running down the middle of its hind wings. The abdomen is bright red-orange.

Sue, Donna and Rhonda are well known among gardeners in Marco as

avid “butterfly hobbyists.” They are also members of the Calusa Garden Club and often, you’ll see them at the Butterfly Garden on Winterberry Road checking out the assortment of butterflies flying around.

Lately, the trio have come together to help re-establish small colonies of Atala Butterflies in local garden settings. The Atala Butterfly (Eumaeus atala) was thought to have been extinct in Florida until it was re-discovered in 1979. It was not listed as federally extinct as the Atala was presumed gone from Florida when the Endangered Species Act became law in 1973.

According to Sandy Koi of Florida International University, who has been studying Atala Butterflies for 27 years, the Atala is a “specialist butterfly relying on the native Coontie for its host plant” just the same way as a Monarch butterfly relies on the Milkweed to lay eggs and as a food source for their caterpillars. 

According to Atala experts, they disappeared due to the overharvesting of Coontie (Zamia integrifolia), the caterpillar’s food source. Since its re-discovery in 1979, in a small colony on an island between Miami and Key Biscayne, Atala’s have been sighted beyond its original location.

Sue Oldershaw lost her original Atala colony to Hurricane Ian, but just recently, she observed an Atala butterfly hatched on her mature Coontie plant. Sue has a Florida-friendly native garden with over 100 plants, which are nectar or host to an assortment of butterfly species.

Donna Kay also has a Florida-friendly native garden and has added young Coonties to attract more Atalas. She has planted native Bahama Coffee and Bidens Alba, which are nectar plants for the Atalas and other butterflies.

Rhonda Gloodt has over 100 nectar plants attracting over 20 butterfly species. She has enjoyed a small colony of Atalas which are laying eggs on her mature Coonties. To help the Atala make a comeback, she donated newly hatched caterpillars to the Butterfly Garden on Winterberry Park.

The challenge for butterfly hobbyists is finding a good source of native Coontie plants and other butterfly host plants. Koi also added, “It is best to buy your Coontie from a Native nursery as big box stores often use systemic pesticides to keep plants looking nice. Ironically, that will also kill the caterpillar and or adult butterflies.”

Koi just defended her Doctoral Dissertation on “The Role of Citizen Science Engagement in the Recovery of the Imperiled Atala Butterfly,” which pointed to “floristic diversity as one of the most important elements in the garden, along with trees and shrubs for roosting and hill-topping (many butterflies, including Atala flutter around the tree tops at dusk finding mates and communicating with each other).”

Sue, Donna, and Rhonda’s gardens are perfect examples of providing “floristic diversity” with a plethora of nectar and host plants that bloom throughout the year, attracting not just the Atala but also a diverse collection of butterfly species.

Though the Atala Butterfly is making a comeback, it is not out of danger. The widespread practice of pesticide spraying is a threat to all the butterflies and their host plants. Also, it is a challenge to find local native nurseries selling host plants for the local butterfly population.

A Florida native, the Coontie is a favorite landscape plant – it is slow growing, never needs pruning, and is drought resistant. The Calusa and Seminoles depended on the Coontie’s starchy tuber as a food source. In the early 1880s, early settlers overharvested the Coontie from its natural habitat and created mills to process the starch, which became known as Florida Arrowroot. 

The Atala and the Coontie plants are tied to Florida’s early history. For Sue, Donna, and Rhonda, sighting an Atala in the garden is a call for celebration. For now, the talk is about the future, not extinction!