Skip to main content
  • Visit
  • Learn
  • Collections + Research
  • News + Blogs
  • About + Support

Florida Museum

  • Search
  • Visit
  • Learn
  • Collections + Research
  • News + Blogs
  • About + Support
  • Research News
  • Blogs
  • For Journalists
    • Our Research
    • Our People
    • For Media
    • #MuseumLife Blog
    • All Museum Blogs Feed
    • Museum Blogs Index
    • Press Releases
    • Media Contacts

Research News

Kawahara Lab

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…
Read More

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…
Read More

A close up image of a large moth perched at the tip of a twig with prominent, feather-like antennae

Technology & Data

Student’s device enables researchers to easily track elusive insects

February 24, 2022

With some home security software and a little ingenuity, researchers have developed an inexpensive device that will allow them to…
Read More

Philodoria hibiscella moth

Life on Earth

These moths are one of Hawaii’s oldest animal groups. Can they survive the next century?

March 19, 2021

Akito Kawahara was snapping pictures at a scenic outlook in Hawaii when he spotted the moth equivalent of a dodo….
Read More

A close-up butterfly

Evolution

In butterfly battle of sexes, males deploy ‘chastity belts’ but females fight back

September 3, 2020

Some male butterflies go to extreme lengths to ensure their paternity – sealing their mate’s genitalia with a waxy “chastity…
Read More

Akito Kawahara

News in Brief

Akito Kawahara talks insect declines – and what you can do – with Adam Conover

April 17, 2020

Comedian Adam Conover believed the world would be better off without mosquitoes – until entomologist Akito Kawahara joined his “Factually!”…
Read More

orange butterfly drinking from red flower

Evolution

Butterflies and plants evolved in sync, but moth ‘ears’ predated bats

October 21, 2019

Butterflies and moths rank among the most diverse groups in the animal kingdom, with nearly 160,000 known species, ranging from…
Read More

exterior of Powell Hall at dusk

Awards & Honors

Florida Museum students awarded NSF graduate fellowships

May 1, 2019

Three Florida Museum of Natural History doctoral students have been awarded National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships, a competitive funding…
Read More

Akito holds a box of moth specimens

Awards & Honors

Akito Kawahara named UF Research Foundation professor

April 19, 2019

The University of Florida Research Foundation has named Florida Museum of Natural History researcher Akito Kawahara a UFRF Professor for 2019-2022….
Read More

tiger beetle sits atop a scientist's fingers

Features

Tiger beetles: fierce hunters, fast movers

April 5, 2019

Tiger beetles are jewel-toned insects that run so fast, they have to stop to see where they’re going. These long-legged…
Read More

12
Next →

Contact Info

Florida Museum of Natural History
Gainesville, FL 32611

Media inquiries:
Jerald Pinson, Science Writer

Florida Museum Newsletters

Subscribe Now

Museum Info

Exhibits Building Closed for Renovations

  • Learn More
  • Staff Directory

Legal

  • © Copyright 2025
  • Contact the Web Manager
  • This page uses Google Analytics
  • Google Privacy Policy
  • UF Privacy Policy
  • Social Media
  • Log In
Florida Museum of Natural History logo University of Florida logo
1 / 0