Keith Willmott

Keith Richard Willmott is a British American entomologist, and curator and former director of the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity at the Florida Museum of Natural History (FLMNH). His research focuses on butterfly diversity, particularly in the tropical Andes, a region known for its exceptional biodiversity. Willmott is recognized for his contributions to butterfly systematics, conservation, and the discovery of numerous new species.

Euptychiina butterflies Willmott's work with an international team of researchers on the butterfly subtribe Euptychiina, historically poorly studied, revised the group's classification. By analyzing over 60,000 specimens and employing DNA analysis, this team has identified more than 100 unnamed species, significantly enhancing the understanding of their diversity.

Tropical Andean Butterfly Diversity Project Willmott helped lead the Tropical Andean Butterfly Diversity project, funded by the UK's Darwin Initiative. This collaboration identified priority areas for research and conservation, inspired plans for long-term study sites, and provided opportunities for local students. The project's findings have informed strategies to conserve Andean butterflies and their habitats.

Notable discoveries Keith Willmott has discovered and/or helped describe more than 200 new taxa of butterflies, including Tithorea pacifica, Methona grandior batesi, Scada reckia ruiza, Hyalyris yasunina, Hyalyris praxilla leuca, Napeogenes garwoodae, Pachacutia, Pachacutia baroni, Megeuptychia monopunctata, Nhambikuara toynei, Myselasia mapatayna, Myselasia nauca, Pelolasia nytua, among others, mostly in collaboration with Jason Hall.

Editorial and professional roles Willmott serves as editor of Tropical Lepidoptera Research and as one of the directors of the Association for Tropical Lepidoptera.

Selected publications