Akito Kawahara
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dr-akito.bsky.social
Akito Kawahara
@dr-akito.bsky.social
Director, Professor & Curator of Moths & Butterflies | University of Florida, Florida Museum of Natural History, McGuire Center | father of two wonderful kids | フロリダ大学教授 |昆虫学者 | 河原章人 | he/him/his | https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/kawahara-lab/
Reposted by Akito Kawahara
If you are curious about the Mothbox, I'm around #entsoc2025 talking about #openscience hardware!
November 9, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Our lab is on our way to the @entsocamerica.bsky.social meeting in Portland! Very proud of all of the students in the lab who will be presenting amazing talks and posters! If you’re there, come check out their presentations!
November 8, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Really great to see Jay Cheon-Sohn, former lab mate during graduate school @umaryland.edu and Smithsonian. An amazing microlepidopterist and fossil insect expert, who is visiting the McGuire Center @floridamuseum.bsky.social this week! It’s been 13 years since we last saw each other
July 16, 2025 at 8:20 PM
A few pics from our recent trip to #CostaRica to study…. #bagworms! Was super fun trip with my @floridamuseum.bsky.social students and postdoc, and @ajmongue.bsky.social and his lab. They are all so great! Would love to go again soon!
July 8, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Very cool article by Sarah Steele-Cabrera in Smithsonian Magazine on butterflies in South Florida. www.smithsonianmag.com/science-natu... @floridamuseum.bsky.social
Why Does This Endangered Butterfly Thrive After Hurricanes?
For Schaus’ swallowtail butterflies, the powerful storms mean clear skies and bright futures
www.smithsonianmag.com
April 22, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Just listened to an amazing @radiolab.bsky.social episode on Jo Nagai, a 10-year-old from Japan who made a major discovery on how butterflies learn. Touching story- his work is at university level. He speaks to me in fluent english- truly impressive for a native Japanese kid npr.org/podcasts/452...
April 14, 2025 at 12:18 AM
I love this!
April 1, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Really nice to see this article written by @floridamuseum.bsky.social about the amazing volunteer, Bob Belmont, who donated his collection and continues to help the McGuire Center as an expert of geometrid moths! www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/support/insp...
McGuire Volunteer Spotlight: Bob Belmont
If you need any confirmation that passion is priceless – look no further than volunteer research associate Bob Belmont. After retiring from a long career in pest control, he turned to the Florida Mus...
www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu
March 30, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Reposted by Akito Kawahara
Do you remember we found this humongous mystery caterpillar on our expedition in Cerro Hoya? Apparently, scientists don't totally know the larva or host plant of the White Witch, but Sol and Forrest just got it to pupate and proved it!! This is the WIDEST Moth on earth!!!
March 18, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Reposted by Akito Kawahara
Jackie Miller’s career grew from urban warehouse to butterfly bank to jungle laboratory to largest U.S. Lepidoptera collection, but she is often appreciated for drawing people into her world of butterfly research.

🦋 More about Jackie and her husband Lee: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/reme...
March 24, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Reposted by Akito Kawahara
A major milestone of our >4-year effort to bring #butterfly diversity and its threat to global attention. We show most species and hotspots cluster in mountains, with #climatechange projected to erode up to 67% of the thermal niche supporting this diversity. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Global hotspots of butterfly diversity are threatened in a warming world - Nature Ecology & Evolution
Butterflies are a large, functionally important and charismatic invertebrate group. Here, the authors characterize global macroecological patterns of butterflies and project shifts in their bioclimati...
www.nature.com
March 25, 2025 at 9:30 AM
We're hiring an education/outreach assistant to promote butterflies/moths! No need to be a student, just someone who enjoys working with the public +likes insects. Position based on UF main campus. Please forward: explore.jobs.ufl.edu/en-us/job/53... @floridamuseum.bsky.social @ufatwork.bsky.social
University of Florida - Details - FWS or Student Assistant - Outreach and Education Assistant
explore.jobs.ufl.edu
March 14, 2025 at 1:55 AM
Reposted by Akito Kawahara
Stop collaborate and listen! 😀Yesterday was a great day for science! Thank you @standupforscience.bsky.social !The real work begins now. People are listening! We need to challenge misunderstandings and show that investment in science is crucial for our health for our economy and for our future!
March 8, 2025 at 3:37 PM
The Lepidopterists' Society annual meeting will be held this year in beautiful Arizona, July 30-Aug 3! Information below about how to register. Should be a great meeting with opportunities to see rare #moths and #butterflies only found in Arizona! www.lepsoc.org/2025-annual-...
2025 Annual Meeting | The Lepidopterists' Society
www.lepsoc.org
March 6, 2025 at 4:48 PM
If you like butterflies and moths and want to learn more, check out the Lepidoptera Course in Portal, Arizona this summer! Information on applying can be found here - www.calacademy.org/lepidoptera-...
Lepidoptera Course | California Academy of Sciences
www.calacademy.org
March 2, 2025 at 7:18 PM