The McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity has continued to make public outreach a priority during the temporary closure of the Florida Museum. Even though we were unable to bring the charming world of butterflies and moths to visitors at the museum, we wanted to highlight some of the outreach events and opportunities that students, faculty, and staff at the McGuire Center have brought to people in the Gainesville community, neighboring counties, and even institutions abroad!

Florida Bat Festival

On October 25th, the McGuire Center packed its bags and joined the Florida Museum of Natural History at the Florida Bat Festival at Lubee Bat Conservancy! Over 1,600 people visited our booth to interact with live Luna Moths, learn about the recent conservation efforts surrounding the Atala butterfly, and play educational games highlighting different moth species. From chatting with fellow lepidopterists, to helping some face their fears, it was a great opportunity to connect with a crowd of all ages and all levels of curiosity.

Science Saturday Workshop

On November 8th, Andrei Sourakov and Marcela Diaz brought the fascinating world of butterflies and moths to over 60 school students at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) in Ocala. They shared the world of Lepidoptera study with these aspiring scientists through the art of discovery, illustration, and hands-on observation. Andrei and Marcela brought a van load of display drawers with butterflies, moths, and other insects to the institute. Through careful observation of collection specimens, students were able to draw their own detailed butterflies and examine their scales up close with the use of microscopes. They also had a chance to examine Luna Moth caterpillars, cocoons, and even caterpillar frass up close.

First Magnitude Brewing: Bugs, Bones, and Beers

On October 23rd, the Daniels Lab continued to engage through another collaboration with First Magnitude Brewing: Bugs, Bones, and Brews. The Hickory Horned Devil Hazy IPA was launched along with new t-shirts and pint glasses with proceeds contributing to further conservation work through the lab. These spooky sips were accompanied by bugs like grasshoppers and striking prehistoric fossils. This is not the first beer launch event for the Daniels Lab – First Magnitude collaboration. The previous hits include Frosted Elfin, Bartram’s Blonde, Atala Pale Ale, and many others. We look forward to tasting the new beers they come up with in the future and learning about the insects behind the inspiration!

Additionally, the Daniels Lab conducted several Plant for Pollinators events, such as one at the Matheson Museum, which was held on Sept 13, 2025. 

McGuire Center Seminar Series

During the fall, the McGuire Center continued its Seminar Series, “Expanding Horizons in Lepidoptera Research,” continuing a program that was initiated by the McGuire Center’s founding director Thomas Emmel. Over the course of three months, the McGuire Center hosted seven seminars with visiting researchers/scientists from national and international institutions, such as Ivonne Garzón-Orduña from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and Jaimie Wyckoff from the United States Air Force Academy. Through these seminars, which will continue during the spring 2026 semester, students, faculty, and staff at the McGuire Center, the Florida Museum of Natural History, the University of Florida, and around the world are able to learn more about cutting edge developments in Lepidoptera research. Thank you to the following speakers that shared their research and developments:

• Jaimie Wyckoff (US Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA): “A spring fling: Fecal firing in fiery skipper caterpillars (Hylephila phyleus)”
• Simon Doneski (University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA): “Introducing NM-RARe a New Tool and Next Step for Insect Conservation in New Mexico” Watch Recording
• Takuya Tsubota (Transgenic Silkworm Research Unit, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Tsukuba, Japan): “Development of genome editing technologies and their application in the silkworm Bombyx mori” Watch Recording
• Ivonne Garzón-Orduña (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico): “Building systematic knowledge about Mexican geometrid moths: a multi-pronged approach”
• BingKan Xue (Department of Physics, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA): “How good is mimicry? Decoding butterfly wing patterns with hyperspectral imaging and machine learning” Watch Recording
• Jaret Daniels, Vaughn Shirey, Keith Willmott, and Akito Kawahara (McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA): “McGuire summer research highlights”
• Andrei Sourakov (McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA): “Remarkable moths of Florida: what we can learn from studying them” Watch Recording

Thank you to the visiting researchers, scientists, faculty, staff, and students involved in sharing their recent research developments! We look forward to the seminars that will be hosted in the spring, and we thank our donors for their support to the Mr. Carl Wisler and Dr. Midge Smith Visiting Researcher Endowment, which provides awards to students, professionals and other Lepidoptera researchers to enable them to visit and work in the collections and labs of the McGuire Center.