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 Museum as a productive way to fill his time and help grow the diverse collections of the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera & Biodiversity.

He has dedicated over 3,000 hours of his time volunteering at the museum, carrying out the meticulous yet essential tasks and organization required to maintain one of the world’s largest Lepidoptera collections. His expertise lies in the moth family Geometridae renowned for their caterpillars which are commonly known as inchworms.

Bob Belmont poses with a specimen in front of a McGuire Center digitization station. — Bob Belmont is working on digitizing specimens from his Split Rock Survey. Here he is holding a specimen of Eudryas grata, the Beautiful Wood-nymph, after capturing its image at one of the McGuire Center’s digitization stations.

This knowledge is an asset for preserving the museum’s collection of moths. Whether it’s curating geometrid specimens, digitizing collections or curating labeling donations, he can do it all.

His background in pest control also comes in handy – he monitors specimens carefully for any sign of infestation by museum pests such as booklice.

“He does an excellent job of specimen preparation, spreading even the little micro [moths]” said Deborah Matthews, a collection manager at the McGuire Center. “That’s what we need in the museum: meticulous people.”

Bob was also instrumental in the development of a survey of the Split Rock Conservation Area in Gainesville. The calcareous hammock forest with limestone outcrops and sinkholes is now a nature reserve open to the public to enjoy. Thanks to his initiative, a list of the moth species occurring on the property is available online, and serves as an important resource to understand Florida biodiversity and human impacts on the environment.

It’s proven to be a great spot for lepidoptera research. In just that preserve, he’s collected over 800 moth species.

“Collecting moths in the 240-acre preserve in my backyard for the past two years has allowed me to discover five new species of Lepidoptera never before seen by scientists,” Belmont said.

But his help doesn’t stop there.

In 2010, he generously donated his collection of over 10,000 geometrid specimens to the McGuire Center.

a man holding an alligator statue is staning next to a person in front of a huge cardboard display check in what looks like a public building like a library or museum — Research and Collections Volunteer of the Year recipient, Bob Belmont, with supervisor Debbie Lott. Florida Museum photo by Jeff Gage

His hard work was recognized in 2022, when he received the Research and Collections Volunteer of the Year Award.

Bob has made essential contributions to the Florida Museum by offering his invaluable time, initiative and resources to the McGuire Center. We are so grateful for his support.

“If you are retired and interested in studying butterflies or moths, then the McGuire Center should be your top choice for a great place to pursue your passion,” Belmont said.

If you’re interested in volunteering with the McGuire Center, contact volunteer coordinator Amy Hester. To support the curation of the center’s specimens, you can make a donation to the McGuire Center’s Support Fund or the John F. Emmel M.D. Lepidoptera Fund.