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.
Take a Video Tour of the McGuire Center
The Center also houses a large visitor gallery with public-facing laboratories and the Butterfly Rainforest, a flagship exhibit that showcases hundreds of free-flying butterflies from around the globe in a truly immersive nature experience.
Latest Research News
Park rangers use butterflies to take planet’s pulse in a biodiversity hotspot
In 2017, a group of scientists raised alarm bells by showing that flying insects had declined in Germany by more…
Student’s device enables researchers to easily track elusive insects
With some home security software and a little ingenuity, researchers have developed an inexpensive device that will allow them to…
Map of transparent butterflies highlights biodiversity hotspot in the Andes Mountains
With over a million known species, insects are by far the most diverse group of organisms on Earth, with conservative…