Epilogue:In a bit of serendipity, I returned again to the gas station "park" area today where I found this one, and a woman happened to be admiring them also.
She told me why they're so prevalent in that spot, and that is because of the
Florida Coontie plant that is there (their native hostplant), which is why they were there in swarms. Apparently, the Florida Coontie was ravaged by us humans, for commercial reasons, which is why the Atala almost went extinct: it didn't have the food needed for its reproductive cycle.
But now, with this awareness of the importance of the Coontie plant, many biologically-aware gardeners and landscapers are purposely planting this plant as edging and trim, not just because it looks good in that capacity, but also with the specific intent on bringing the Atala back around ... which adds even more beauty to the local gardens ... and which has changed the Atala's status from "endangered" to "imperiled" which is great!
Because of this woman, I was able to find and photograph all life stages of this butterfly ... eggs, larvae, chrysalis ... and have the complete set now, which I may share later. Truly awesome last couple of days
Jack
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