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Research News

Akito Kawahara

Person smiles in front of green plants.

Awards & Honors

Three Florida Museum postdocs receive UF awards

September 24, 2024

Three postdoctoral associates at the Florida Museum of Natural History have received awards from the University of Florida highlighting their…
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Moth sits on an organic case made of twigs.

Grants & Initiatives

Funding awarded for research on bagworms, bubonic plague, ancient mammals and a repository of changing seasons

September 5, 2024

Researchers at the Florida Museum of Natural History and collaborating institutions have been collectively awarded $2,837,441 in funding from the…
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Moth rests on leaf.

Evolution

Moths may use disco gene to regulate day/night cycles

August 28, 2024

How does one species become two? If you’re a biologist, that’s a loaded question. The consensus is that, in most…
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Harlan Gough wears a headlamp and examines a tiger beetle specimen he has caught. A bright light shines on the beetle. The background is black.

Life on Earth

Tiger beetles fight off bat attacks with ultrasonic mimicry

May 15, 2024

Bats, as the main predator of night-flying insects, create a selective pressure that has led many of their prey to…
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Mosaic of butterfly illustrations superimposed on a map of an urban area.

Florida Biodiversity

Moths big and small are vanishing from southern U.S. cities

March 26, 2024

Insects of all stripes are in the midst of a vanishing act, a catastrophic sleight-of-hand occurring so rapidly that scientists…
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Akito Kawahara stands smiling in front of some green foliage.

Hires & Promotions

Akito Kawahara named director of McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity

August 17, 2023

The Florida Museum of Natural History has named Akito Kawahara as the new director of the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera…
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Yellow orange and black butterfly specimen set again a line illustration of the tree of life

Evolution

Butterfly tree of life reveals an origin in North America

May 15, 2023

About 100 million years ago, a group of trendsetting moths started flying during the day rather than at night, taking…
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Butterfly perched on bamboo leaf

Life on Earth

Family tree of ‘boring’ butterflies shows they’re anything but

April 12, 2023

Walk a short distance through the Amazon Rainforest, and you might witness what look like dead leaves launch from the…
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test

Evolution

What is it good for? Absolutely one thing. Luna moths use their tails solely for bat evasion

April 10, 2023

In a pair of complementary studies, researchers take a close look at Luna moth (Actias luna) tails through the eyes…
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illustration of an agave plant with broad leaves growing from a central point close to the ground. Leaves are wide with large thorns at the point and along the edges.

Life on Earth

Scientists uncover the unexpected identity of mezcal worms

March 8, 2023

Mezcal is a distilled alcohol made from the boiled and fermented sap of agave plants. Most mezcal beverages — including…
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Contact Info

Florida Museum of Natural History
Gainesville, FL 32611

Media inquiries:
Jerald Pinson, Science Writer

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