Current Courses

Biology of Butterflies, Spring 2026

Instructors: Andrei Sourakov and Keith Willmott

Honors IDH 2930 (Syllabus)
ENY 4932 (Syllabus)

Course description

Butterflies are one of the best known and most charismatic groups of insects, and with nearly 20,000 species occupying virtually all habitats, they offer limitless opportunities to appreciate and understand the natural world. This course is loosely based around “The Little Book of Butterflies”, which summarizes our current knowledge of these fascinating insects in twelve highly accessible chapters. We will use the material covered in book chapters as a starting point for discussion in each class. The book covers the diversity and classification of butterflies, their evolutionary history, habitats, life histories, color patterns, biology, development, and conservation, and their place in our culture and society. Chastity belts placed on females by males, mud-puddling males collecting minerals for spermatophores, eyespots and false heads as defenses against predators, frass flinging and carnivorous caterpillars, gynandromorphs and ultraviolet wings – there are many surprises in the world of butterflies that we will seek to appreciate and understand. Butterflies are often considered to be a ‘model group’, the study of which can help us to understand broader patterns applicable to biodiversity and its conservation. Observations of unbelievably similar yet unrelated butterflies flying together in the Amazon rainforest led Henry Walter Bates to formulate his theory of mimicry, one of the first and clearest examples of natural selection in action. Research on the genetics of brightly colored Heliconius butterflies continues to improve our understanding of how new species arise. And the efforts by citizen scientists to count butterflies across the world provided some of the first insights into how environmental changes are impacting biodiversity. In addition to lectures and discussion sessions, students will have a chance to visit one of the largest butterfly collections in the world at the Florida Museum of Natural History, and observe caterpillars and butterflies in UF’s 60-acre Natural Area Teaching Laboratory. Students will gain an appreciation and understanding of the evolution and biology of an iconic group of insects, in addition to developing their ability to think critically about scientific research. This course is intended to stimulate a broader and deeper interest in the natural world, of which butterflies are such conspicuous members, and there are no prerequisites beyond a fascination in the diversity of life.

Previous Courses

Insects and Plants

(co-taught with Andrei Sourakov and Thomas Emmel)

Spring, 2025, 1 credit, IDH3931/ENY4905
Fall, 2023, 1 credit, IDH3931/ENY4905
Fall, 2022, 1 credit, IDH3931/ENY4905
Fall, 2021, 1 credit, IDH3931/ENY4905
Fall, 2020, 1 credit, IDH3931/ENY4905
Fall, 2019, 1 credit, IDH3931/ENY4905
Fall 2017, 1 credit, IDH3931/ENY4905
Fall 2015, 1 credit, IDH3931/ENY4905
Spring 2015, 1 credit, IDH3931/ENY4905

Insects and Plants Lab

(co-taught with Andrei Sourakov)

Spring, 2025, 1 credit, IDH4912

Research in Insect Biodiversity

(co-taught with Akito Kawahara)

Fall 2015, 1-2 credits, ENY 4905/BSC 2930

Evolutionary Biogeography

(co-taught with Nico Cellinese)

Spring 2014, 3 credits, PCB6675C, BOT6935, ZOO6927
Spring 2011, 3 credits, BOT 6935/6554.

Biology of Lepidoptera

(co-taught with Andrei Sourakov)

Spring 2012, 1 credit, ENY 4905/6934.
Spring 2010, 1 credit, ENY 4905/6934.

Macroecology

Spring 2008, 1 credit, ZOO 4926/6927.

Insect Biogeography

Fall 2018, 1 credit, ENY 6934.
Spring 2013, 1 credit, ENY 4905/6934.
Spring 2009, 1 credit, ENY 4905/6934.
Spring 2007, 2 credits, ENY 4905/6934.