About
Akito Kawahara is a prominent entomologist and the current Director of the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity at the Florida Museum of Natural History, a division of the University of Florida. He also serves as a Curator at the museum and a Professor at the university. In 2023, he was appointed Director of the McGuire Center, which boasts one of the world's largest and most comprehensive collections of butterflies and moths, containing over 10 million specimens. In his leadership role, he strives to further the center’s mission of advancing research and education in the field of Lepidoptera, mainly through studying these captivating insects. Kawahara’s research focuses on the evolutionary biology of butterflies and moths, which together make up approximately 160,000 species.