Eumaeus atala
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
Eumaeus atala, also known as the Atala butterfly or coontie hairstreak, is a small colorful butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in southeastern Florida (including the Florida Keys) in the United States, Cuba, the Bahamas, and the Cayman Islands in the West Indies. Its coloration and habits are unique among butterflies within its range.
The species was first described by the Cuban zoologist Felipe Poey. He named the butterfly for Atala, the Native American heroine of an 1801 French novella (Atala, ou Les Amours de deux sauvages dans le desert or in English: "Atala, or the Loves of two Indian savages in the desert") of the same name that was written by Chateaubriand.
Throughout its range, the larvae feed on a native cycad, Zamia integrifolia (commonly called "coontie palm" or "arrowhead"), as well as Zamia pumila and other exotic ornamental cycads. In Cuba, the introduced cycad Cycas revoluta also is eaten by this species.
Adult butterflies take flower nectar and sometimes roost in trees. Adults fly through much of the year. The natural habitat is open brushy areas and tropical hammocks, often in pine woodlands. Many populations now exist in suburban... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miami | 🇺🇸 United States |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report an Atala sighting in Miami on a given day, based on 1,771 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 4th most-seen of the 826 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June and July
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report an Atala in Miami on a given day, against about 20% in February–April and September, the lowest months. Those are among Miami's wettest months, with about 180 mm of rain a month against 45 mm in January.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Atala sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Miami, in our data
Miami is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Atala sightings: about 30% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Lycaenidae
The closest relatives of the Atala that you can see in Miami (family Lycaenidae, Gossamer-winged Butterflies) are Ceraunus Blue (about 10%), Cassius Blue (about 10%) and Callicista columella (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Atala is recorded against all the insects logged in Miami (1,771 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
