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| Atala Butterflies emerging from chrysalis |
Back in mid-October, I was visiting Rotary Park in Cape Coral on a quest for interesting birds. But the most interesting subject was seen in the Butterfly House. Sheryl Anderson invited me to witness the emergence of a pair of beautiful Atala Butterflies.
The Atala or Coontie Hair Hairstreak is a, once on the edge of extinction, rare species whose range existed within the southeastern corner of Florida, in Cuba and the Bahamas. The cause for its demise in Florida, was the over harvesting of its host, larval plant. The Coontie is cycad species of plant, native to Florida, which is very important in the Atala' life cycle. The adults lay their eggs on this plant and were the emerging caterpillars will feed on its leaves. The plant is poisonous for most creatures, but Atala thrive on them. The ingested toxins also makes the Atala caterpillar undesirable to potential predator species looking for a meal.
The Indigenous peoples of Florida including the Calusa and Timucuans, and later with Seminoles considered the Coontie plants to be an import food source. The roots and stalk would be pounded to a pulp and the toxins would be rinse away. The starch produced from this process would be used in making Coontie Bread.
Early European settlers also learned to harvest the Coontie for its starch. By the 1830s, entrepreneurs began commercial harvesting the Coontie, which lasted into 1926. Tons of the plant were harvested and the product was marketed as Florida Arrowroot. This massive harvesting along with land development almost eliminated the wild Coontie plant.
The Coontie is now making a comeback and, though still rare, so is the Atala Butterfly. The Butterfly Garden and House at Rotary Park are actively involved in this revival.
Wonderful. Thanks for sharing. Butterfly appreciation is a perfect compliment to birding. Same with botany. Everything in nature is connected.
ReplyDeleteIt would seem all reading this post are envious of your experience, Tom. It was as recently as last week that I had a pair of Monarchs and a Painted Lady feeding on a Butterfly Bush. The cold front here north of the Long Island Sound has since put a damper on butterfly activity. It's been enjoyable, however, to see many birds feeding on natural food sources instead of the treats provided to them.
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