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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Butterflies and Skippers (Papilionoidea) » Blues, Coppers, Hairstreaks, Harvesters (Lycaenidae) » Hairstreaks (Theclinae) » Eumaeini » Eumaeus » Atala - Hodges#4268 (Eumaeus atala)

Species Eumaeus atala - Atala - Hodges#4268

Classification · Hodges Number · Other Common Names · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · Internet References · Works Cited

Atala Butterfly Abberation - Eumaeus atala - female

Atala Butterfly - Eumaeus atala - female

Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)

Superfamily Papilionoidea (Butterflies and Skippers)

Family Lycaenidae (Blues, Coppers, Hairstreaks, Harvesters)

Subfamily Theclinae (Hairstreaks)

Tribe Eumaeini

Genus Eumaeus

Species atala (Atala - Hodges#4268)

Hodges Number

4268

Other Common Names

Atala Hairstreak

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Eumaeus atala (Poey, 1831)

Explanation of Names

Author of the species is Cuban entomologist Charles Felipe Felipe Poey y Aloy (1799-1891). The original publication is Centurie de Lepidoptere de L'Ile de Cuba (Paris, 1832, or 1831?).

It seems likely Poey named the butterfly for "Atala", the Native American heroine of an 1801 French novella by Chateaubriand, Atala ou les amours de deux sauvages dans le désert (Internet searches).

Size

Wingspan 38-51 mm

Identification

Distinctive color and pattern, likely aposematic.

Range

s FL including (formerly?) the Keys, Bahamas, and Cuba. Florida subspecies is endangered.

Habitat

Subtropical shady hammocks and neighboring open areas; gardens with ornamental cycads.

Season

Throughout year (many broods), most common in early summer.

Food

Adults take nectar.

Life Cycle

Larvae feed on Coontie, Zamia pumila, a native cycad, as well as introduced cycads. It is likely that the cycads provide toxic alkaloids that serve as chemical defenses for the caterpillar and butterfly.

Remarks

considered by FL to be a "Species of Greatest Conservation Need" (SGCN) (1)

Internet References

Moth Photographers Groups - MPG

Butterflies of America - BOA

Florida Coonties and Atala Butterflies--Univ. Florida, a good article on status and rearing

Atala chapter of NABA

Tree of Life--Eumaeus

Works Cited

1.	Florida "Species of Greatest Conservation Need" (SGCN)

Contributed by Troy Bartlett on 16 February, 2004 - 12:32pm
Additional contributions by cotinis, Steve Nanz, Mike Quinn
Last updated 2 July, 2017 - 7:06am

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