Look what butterfly I found South Florida style

Hey Ya'll, thanks for being here!  I know you're busy so here's a quick post for you.  Last week we were working at one of our client's homes, I was applying fertilizer to the sod and there I saw with my little eyes this beauty....an atala butterfly, eumaeus atala!!!  Unfortunately it was dead by natural causes but is still in perfect shape.  So like any good insect collector would do, I brought it home with me to share with you.

Atala butterfly, eumaeus atala

Here's a little bit about the atala so you'll know why I was so excited.  I have been seeing them more and more each year which is great but to actually have one in hand is pretty dang cool!  Below is an excerpt from my butterfly book, the 
National Audubon Society, Field Guide to North American Butterflies.

"Once common in the subtropical wilds of southernmost Florida, this species was abundant in what is now downtown Miami.  Urbanization and probably hurricanes, fires and competition from another species for the host plant, all played a part in its decline.  The Floridian race was considered extinct until a few small colonies were found in the early 1960's.  Atala visits flowers of Spanish needles and scrub palmetto palms with a slow and lazy flight."

Their habitat ranges from brushy edges of wooded areas, to wild roadside brush with wild flowers and natural hammocks.  Luckily us South Floridians have done a great job with landscaping many of the atala's favorite plants.  Their host plants (which means the plant they lay their eggs on and eat) are cycads with an emphasis on the coontie.  They are found in the extreme southern areas of Florida as well as in the Caribbean island of the Bahamas, Cuba and a few other.  I have also seen them flying around Mounts Botanical Garden in West Palm Beach.  The atala butterfly has multi broods virtually year round.  They are a small butterfly, about 1 3/4 inches but bold in color.  You can't miss them with their beautiful deep black color, bright indigo blue, bright red and an iridescence to them that is indescribable.

There you go...a little tid bit on a butterfly truly native to only South Florida!

Thanks for hanging out & looking forward to seeing you again!

Happy Gardening and Best Wishes,
Sheri B.
xoxo