The McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity represents the largest collections-based research and education center in the world focused on butterflies and moths. The collections are taxonomically comprehensive and contain more than 10 million specimens, which are widely used by an ever-growing global community of students and scientists. The Center documents past and present patterns of biological diversity and forms the basis for research ranging from climate change and emerging agricultural pests, to evolution and biodiversity conservation.
Milestones and momentum
Looking back at our first 20 years helps shape our vision of what we hope to accomplish in the years to come. From extensive collections to innovative research to conservation initiatives, our community of scientists, students, volunteers and supporters has been making fundamental strides in our understanding of the vital role butterflies and moths play in the natural world.
Celebrating 20 YearsLatest Research
Butterflies worldwide are on the move as the climate warms
A large, international team of scientists has determined that one in ten butterfly species globally has shifted its distribution range,…
Butterfly experts are planting 15,000 milkweed plants along Florida roadsides to help monarchs
If you’ve driven down two-lane highways in rural parts of North Florida recently, you may have noticed a spate of…
This single well-known and widespread butterfly is actually three species in disguise
Key points The genus Colobura is widespread in Central and South America and contains some of the most abundant and…
See more Lepidoptera research…
McGuire Center News
New Outreach Program Takes Flight: Florida Museum, CPET and Department of Entomology provides Natural History Collections Experience to School Students
As summer break comes to an end for Alachua County schools, we would like to share this brief account of…
Reflecting on Global Butterfly Week and the Power of Collective Science
The inaugural Global Butterfly Week successfully united thousands of butterfly watchers, educators, and field researchers to create the first...
Lead Instructors from Around the Country Come Together to Train the Next Generation of Lepidopterists
The Southwestern Research Station (SWRS) is situated in the Chiricahua Mountains of southeast Arizona, a rugged terrain and an arid…