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.

Early life and education

Details about Willmott's early life and education are not widely documented, but his professional career has been marked by significant contributions to the field of entomology, particularly in the study of Neotropical butterflies.

Research and contributions

Butterfly diversity and systematics

Willmott’s primary research focuses on the diversity, distribution, and natural history of butterflies in Ecuador and the Andean region. Collaborating with entomologist Jason Hall and others, he has significantly advanced the systematic classification of butterflies. He and his colleagues have contributed approximately 15,000 specimens representing 2,000 species to the Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad, Ecuador, the Florida Museum of Natural History and other research institutions. These specimens have also been integral to molecular research.

Willmott has described several new butterfly species and conducted groundbreaking studies on mimicry in clearwing butterflies. His collaborative work on mimicry demonstrated how ecological niches can converge due to mimicry benefits, challenging traditional views on competition-driven coexistence.

Euptychiina butterflies

Willmott’s work with an international team of researchers on the butterfly subtribe Euptychiina, historically poorly studied, substantially 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.

Awards and recognition

Willmott’s work has earned him accolades, including recognition as a 2012 awardee for his significant contributions to entomology and biodiversity conservation.

Selected publications

  • Janzen, D.H.; Hallwachs, W.; Blandin, P.; Burns, J.M.; CADIOU, J.M.; Chacon, I.; Dapkey, T.; Deans, A.R.; Epstein, M.E.; Espinoza, B.; Franclemont, J.G. (2009). "Integration of DNA barcoding into an ongoing inventory of complex tropical biodiversity" (PDF). Molecular Ecology Resources. 9: 1–26. doi:10.1111/j.1755-0998.2009.02628.x. PMID 21564960.
  • Mallet, J.; Willmott, K. (2003). "Taxonomy: renaissance or Tower of Babel?". Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 18 (2): 57–59. doi:10.1016/S0169-5347(02)00061-7.
  • Elias, M.; Hill, R.I.; Willmott, K.R.; Dasmahapatra, K.K.; Brower, A.V.; Mallet, J.; Jiggins, C.D. (2007). "Limited performance of DNA barcoding in a diverse community of tropical butterflies". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 274 (1627): 2881–2889. doi:10.1098/rspb.2007.1035. PMC 3227132. PMID 17785265.
  • Espeland, M.; Breinholt, J.; Willmott, K.R.; Warren, A.D.; Vila, R.; Toussaint, E.F.; Maunsell, S.C.; Aduse-Poku, K.; Talavera, G.; Eastwood, R.; Jarzyna, M.A. (2018). "A comprehensive and dated phylogenomic analysis of butterflies". Current Biology. 28 (5): 770–778. Bibcode:2018CBio...28E.770E. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2018.01.061. PMID 29456146.
  • Elias, M.J.B.P.; Joron, M.; Willmott, K.; Silva-Brandão, K.L.; Kaiser, V.; Arias, C.F.; Piñerez, L.G.; Uribe, S.; Brower, A.V.Z.; Freitas, A.V.L.; Jiggins, C.D. (2009). "Out of the Andes: patterns of diversification in clearwing butterflies". Molecular Ecology. 18 (8): 1716–1729. Bibcode:2009MolEc..18.1716E. doi:10.1111/j.1365-294X.2009.04149.x. PMID 19386035.
  • Elias, M.; Gompert, Z.; Jiggins, C.; Willmott, K. (2008). "Mutualistic interactions drive ecological niche convergence in a diverse butterfly community". PLOS Biology. 6 (12): 2642–2649. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0060300. PMC 2592358. PMID 19055316.
  • Willmott, K.R.; Freitas, A.V. (2006). "Higher-level phylogeny of the Ithomiinae (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae): classification, patterns of larval hostplant colonization and diversification". Cladistics. 22 (4): 297–368. doi:10.1111/j.1096-0031.2006.00108.x. PMID 34892866.
  • Willmott, K.R. (2003). The genus Adelpha: its systematics, biology and biogeography. Gainesville, FL: Scientific Publishers.
  • Hall, J.P.; Willmott, K.R. (2000). "Patterns of feeding behaviour in adult male riodinid butterflies and their relationship to morphology and ecology". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 69 (1): 1–23. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.2000.tb01666.x.
  • Rosser, N.; Phillimore, A.B.; Huertas, B.; Willmott, K.R.; Mallet, J. (2012). "Testing historical explanations for gradients in species richness in heliconiine butterflies of tropical America". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 105 (3): 479–497. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.2011.01814.x.
  • Checa, M.F.; Rodriguez, J.; Willmott, K.R.; Liger, B. (2014). "Microclimate variability significantly affects the composition, abundance and phenology of butterfly communities in a highly threatened neotropical dry forest". Florida Entomologist. 97 (1): 1–13. doi:10.1653/024.097.0101.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Keith Willmott". University of Florida Research Foundation. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Birds learn to avoid flashy butterflies". Earth.com. 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  3. ^ "Birds learn to avoid flashy, hard-to-catch butterflies and their lookalikes". Phys.org. 2021-03-16. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  4. ^ a b Willmott, K. (12 October 2020). "Keith Willmott named director of McGuire Center". Florida Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  5. ^ a b "Butterflies of America". Butterflies of America. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  6. ^ a b De-Silva, D. L., Elias, M., Willmott, K., Mallet, J., Day, J. J. (2016). "Diversification of clearwing butterflies with the rise of the Andes". Journal of Biogeography. 43 (1): 44–58. doi:10.1111/jbi.12628.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Kawahara, A.Y., Storer, C., Carvalho, A.P.S., Plotkin, D.M., Condamine, F.L., Braga, M.P., Ellis, E.A., St Laurent, R.A., Li, X., Barve, V., Cai, L. (2023). "A global phylogeny of butterflies reveals their evolutionary history, ancestral hosts and biogeographic origins". Nature Ecology & Evolution. 7 (6): 903–913. doi:10.1038/s41559-023-01923-3 (inactive 23 January 2025).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of January 2025 (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ a b Willmott, Keith R. (2003). "Cladistic analysis of the Neotropical butterfly genus Adelpha (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), with comments on the subtribal classification of Limenitidini". Systematic Entomology. 28 (3): 279–322. doi:10.1046/j.1365-3113.2003.00242.x (inactive 23 January 2025).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of January 2025 (link)
  9. ^ "New research shows caterpillars use mimicry to defend against predators". NBC News. 2010. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  10. ^ Chazot, N., Willmott, K. R., Santacruz Endara, P. G., Toporov, A., Hill, R. I., Jiggins, C. D., Elias, M. (2014). "Mutualistic mimicry and filtering by altitude shape the structure of Andean butterfly communities". The American Naturalist. 183 (1): 26–39. doi:10.1086/674310.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ Páez, E., Valkonen, J.K., Willmott, K.R., Matos-Maraví, P., Elias, M., Mappes, J. (2021). "Hard to catch: experimental evidence supports evasive mimicry". Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 288 (1946): 20203052. doi:10.1098/rspb.2020.3052. PMID 33715434.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ "Boring tropical butterflies have a fascinating family tree". Earth.com. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  13. ^ De-Silva, L. D., Mota, L. L., Chazot, N., Mallarino, R., Silva-Brandão, K. L., Piñerez, L. M. G., Freitas, A. V., Lamas, G., Joron, M., Mallet, J., & Giraldo, C. E. (2017). "North Andean origin and diversification of the largest ithomiine butterfly genus". Scientific Reports. 7 (1): 45966. Bibcode:2017NatSR...745966L. doi:10.1038/srep45966. PMID 28387233.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ "New butterfly species discovered in the Andes". Miami Herald. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  15. ^ Rodríguez, G., Salazar E, J. A., Constantino, L. M. (2010). "Description of new species and new records of riodinids (Lepidoptera, Riodinidae) from Colombia". Boletín Científico. Centro de Museos. Museo de Historia Natural. 14 (2): 215–237.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ Systematics of Neotropical Butterflies (2016). "List of publications". McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, Florida Museum of Natural History.