southernlepsoc.org

southernlepsoc.org is the official website of the Southern Lepidopterists' Society (SLS), a society focused on the study of butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera) in the southern United States. The site serves primarily as an organizational hub: it publishes society news, annual meeting announcements, registration and paper-call materials, and references to the society's publication, Southern Lepidopterists' News. If you want to attend an SLS meeting, follow society announcements, or find out how to get involved, this is the place to start.

Who the Society Is For

The SLS brings together people interested in southern Lepidoptera — amateur naturalists, collectors, and professional researchers alike. The site's content reflects that mix: meeting logistics sit alongside references to published field studies and collecting activities. You don't need to be an academic to use the site, but the material assumes a genuine interest in butterflies and moths.

What You Can Find on the Site

The most detailed content currently posted is the announcement for the 2026 Annual Meeting, held jointly with ATL (the Association for Tropical Lepidoptera). Key details from that announcement:

The announcement also notes that the meeting moved off-campus because the McGuire Center (MGCL) is temporarily closed for renovations, and that the Cuscowilla site's Lepidoptera fauna was the subject of a 2025 study published in Southern Lepidopterists' News (August 2025 issue).

Practical Resources for Attendees

From the meeting page you can access:

• A Call for Papers (downloadable)
• A Registration Form (downloadable)
• A payment option described as available "on the TLS site" (linked from the page)

The announcement lists named contacts for specific purposes — for example, a Cuscowilla contact for venue questions and society members coordinating payments and volunteer expenses. It also states that a volunteer sign-up sheet would be circulated in winter for meeting preparation tasks.

How to Use the Site

1. Check the meeting announcement first if your goal is to attend — it carries the dates, venue, deadline, and downloadable forms.
2. Download the registration form and call for papers before the March 21, 2026 deadline if you plan to attend or present.
3. Watch for the volunteer sign-up sheet if you want to help with preparations; the announcement explicitly invites members and friends to assist.
4. Look for Southern Lepidopterists' News references if you want the society's published content, such as the Cuscowilla fauna study cited in the meeting notice.

What to Keep in Mind

The site is an announcement and coordination space rather than a general encyclopedia of southern Lepidoptera. Details such as exact registration fees, membership costs, or login requirements are not stated in the available page content, so confirm those directly through the linked forms or the listed contacts rather than assuming. The 2026 venue is explicitly temporary, so don't treat Cuscowilla as the society's permanent meeting location.

To attend the Southern Lepidopterists' Society (SLS) 2026 Annual Meeting, download the registration form from the meeting announcement on southernlepsoc.org, complete it, and submit it before the March 21, 2026 registration deadline. Payment can be made through the TLS site linked in the announcement, or handled via the arrangements described there for larger expenses (ATL checks coordinated by Keith Willmott) and incidental volunteer costs (tracked by Jeff Slotten).

Key Details at a Glance

Step-by-Step Registration

1. Go to the meeting announcement on southernlepsoc.org. The 2026 Annual Meeting post contains the logistics, the registration form, and the Call for Papers.
2. Download the registration form. The announcement lists it as "Registration Form (downloadable)."
3. Complete the form with your attendee details and return it as instructed on the form itself. The announcement does not spell out a separate submission address, so follow the form's own directions.
4. Submit before March 21, 2026. This is the stated due date for registration; plan to send it earlier so any questions about payment can be resolved in time.
5. Confirm your plans for the Friday–Sunday schedule. Scientific talks run Friday afternoon (optional) and Saturday morning through afternoon, with blacklighting and moth-collecting welcomed every night.

How to Pay

The announcement offers more than one path, depending on what you are paying for:

• Standard registration payment: Use the TLS site link provided in the announcement ("You can also make your payment on the TLS site here").
• Larger anticipated expenses: Keith Willmott has offered to act as the "single payer" for larger expenses via ATL checks. If your situation involves a larger shared cost, coordinate with him rather than paying separately.
• Volunteer incidental expenses: Jeff Slotten keeps track of SLS and ATL volunteers' incidental costs, such as veggie trays and miscellaneous supplies. If you are volunteering and buying supplies, route those expenses through him.

The announcement does not publish a registration fee amount, so check the registration form or the linked payment page for the current figure before sending payment.

Submitting a Paper

If you want to give a scientific talk, download the "Call for Papers" document from the same announcement and follow its instructions. Talks are scheduled for Friday afternoon (optional) and Saturday morning and afternoon. Submitting through the Call for Papers is separate from registering, so do both.

Practical Notes for Attendees

• Venue change: The meeting is at Cuscowilla because the McGuire Center (MGCL) is temporarily closed for renovations. The site is off-campus, about 10 miles south of Gainesville.
• Mothing: Blacklighting and moth-collecting are welcomed nightly, and the new moon falls on April 16–17, 2026, which favors dark skies. Vaughn Shirey from MGCL will help with communal light sheets.
• Local fauna: Cuscowilla's Lepidoptera were the subject of a 2025 study by SLS-ATL specialists, published in the August 2025 issue of Southern Lepidopterists' News—useful background reading before you go.
• Volunteering: Organizers plan to circulate a volunteer sign-up sheet over the winter for specific tasks. Watch the site if you want to help.

Common Pitfalls

• Missing the March 21 deadline. The announcement states it plainly; late forms risk not being counted.
• Paying the wrong way for your expense type. Registration goes through the TLS link, larger shared costs through Keith Willmott's ATL check arrangement, and volunteer incidentals through Jeff Slotten.
• Assuming the McGuire Center venue. The 2026 meeting is at Cuscowilla, not MGCL.
• Waiting on lodging or travel questions. For venue-specific questions, the announcement names Jamie Bass at Cuscowilla as the 2026 contact.

The Southern Lepidopterists' Society (SLS) 2026 Annual Meeting will be held April 17–19, 2026 (Friday–Sunday) at the Cuscowilla Nature and Retreat Center in Micanopy, Florida, about 10 miles south of Gainesville. The meeting is a joint SLS–ATL conference, moved off-campus because the McGuire Center (MGCL) is temporarily closed for renovations.

Key Details at a Glance

Why the Venue Changed

The McGuire Center's temporary closure for renovations prompted the move to Cuscowilla. The site is not a random substitute: the lepidopteran fauna of Cuscowilla was the subject of a 2025 study by several SLS–ATL specialists, with the published report appearing in the August 2025 issue of Southern Lepidopterists' News (prepared by David Fine and Montana Atwater). In other words, attendees will be collecting and observing at a location with recently documented moth and butterfly records.

What to Expect

• Scientific talks run Friday afternoon (optional) and Saturday morning through afternoon.
• Blacklighting and moth-collecting are welcomed each night; Vaughn Shirey of MGCL will help with communal light sheets.
• Volunteers are being recruited for specific preparation tasks, with a sign-up sheet circulated in winter.

Registration and Payment

• The registration deadline is March 21, 2026.
• A call for papers and a registration form are available as downloads from the meeting announcement.
• Payment can also be made on the TLS site.
• Keith Willmott has offered to act as "single payer" for larger anticipated expenses via ATL checks, and Jeff Slotten will track SLS and ATL volunteers' incidental expenses (e.g., veggie trays, supplies).

Practical Notes for Planning

If you plan to attend, treat March 21, 2026 as your hard cutoff for registration and submit any talk abstract through the call-for-papers process. Because the meeting runs Friday through Sunday with nightly blacklighting, lodging near Micanopy or Gainesville is worth arranging early. For venue questions, contact Jamie Bass at the number above; for volunteer opportunities, watch for the winter sign-up sheet mentioned in the announcement.

The Southern Lepidopterists' Society (SLS) 2026 joint meeting with ATL runs Friday–Sunday, April 17–19, 2026, at Cuscowilla Nature and Retreat Center in Micanopy, Florida, about 10 miles south of Gainesville. The program combines scientific talks with nightly blacklighting and moth collecting, and the timing is deliberate: the new moon falls on April 16–17, giving dark skies for attracting moths.

Scientific Talks

The formal program is scheduled for:

• Friday afternoon — optional session
• Saturday morning through afternoon — main talk program

The meeting announcement references a downloadable Call for Papers, so anyone intending to present should check the SLS site for that document and its submission details. The announcement excerpt does not specify talk lengths, abstract deadlines, or a final program order, so confirm those with the meeting organizers or the posted Call for Papers before planning a presentation.

Blacklighting and Moth Collecting

Collecting is a core part of the meeting rather than a side event:

• Blacklighting and moth collecting are welcomed every night of the meeting.
• Vaughn Shirey of the McGuire Center (MGCL) will help set up communal light sheets, so attendees without their own rig can still participate.
• The new moon on April 16–17 means minimal moonlight during the Friday and Saturday nights, which generally improves attraction at light sheets.

The venue itself has a documented moth fauna: a 2025 study of Cuscowilla's Lepidoptera by SLS-ATL specialists was published in the August 2025 issue of Southern Lepidopterists' News, with the report credited to David Fine and Montana Atwater. That makes the site a reasonable place to look for species already recorded there.

Why the Venue Changed for 2026

The McGuire Center is temporarily closed for renovations, so the usual on-campus arrangement is not available. The 2026 meeting moves off-campus to Cuscowilla. Organizers note that this is a new, temporary venue and that volunteer help will be solicited through a sign-up sheet circulated over the winter for specific preparation tasks.

Practical Points for Attendees

Registration and payment are handled through a downloadable registration form, and the announcement notes payment can also be made on the TLS site. Keith Willmott is acting as single payer for larger anticipated expenses via ATL checks, and Jeff Slotten is tracking SLS and ATL volunteers' incidental expenses such as veggie trays and supplies — relevant if you are volunteering and need to know how costs are handled.

What to Confirm Before You Go

The announcement excerpt does not cover the full Saturday schedule, meal arrangements, lodging at Cuscowilla, or collecting permit requirements. If you plan to collect, ask the organizers directly about any permits or venue rules, and check the posted Call for Papers if you want to give a talk. For registration specifics, see the registration form and the March 21, 2026 deadline.

For venue questions about the Southern Lepidopterists' Society (SLS) 2026 annual meeting, the site contact named in the announcement is Ms. Jamie Bass at Cuscowilla Nature and Retreat Center — phone (352) 574-2372 (the announcement lists an email address that is masked on the page, so use the phone number or request the address through the society). For volunteering, there is no single named coordinator yet: the meeting co-chairs, John (JFD) and Marc (MCM), say a volunteer sign-up sheet will circulate in winter 2026 listing specific tasks. Until then, raise offers of help with either co-chair.

Venue contact: Jamie Bass at Cuscowilla

The announcement identifies Jamie Bass as "our 2026 contact person at Cuscowilla." Use this contact for questions tied to the site itself — the retreat center is at Micanopy, about 10 miles south of Gainesville, Florida, and the meeting runs Friday to Sunday, 17–19 April 2026.

Practical points the announcement attaches to the venue:

• Blacklighting and moth-collecting are welcomed every night of the meeting.
• The new moon falls on April 16–17, which the organizers flag as favorable for collecting.
• Vaughn Shirey of the McGuire Center (MGCL) will help with communal light sheets.

If your question is about collecting setup or the light sheets rather than the facility, Vaughn Shirey is the person named for that role; Jamie Bass remains the site contact.

Volunteering: watch for the winter sign-up sheet

The co-chairs describe the volunteer process directly: "This winter, we will circulate a volunteer sign-up sheet, seeking help in accomplishing specific tasks." That means the concrete list of jobs does not exist publicly yet — the announcement only commits to publishing it.

Two names are already attached to money and supplies, which is useful if your offer of help involves purchases:

So if you plan to buy supplies for the meeting, Jeff Slotten is the named point for incidental expense tracking, and Keith Willmott handles larger expenses paid by ATL check. Neither is described as a general volunteer coordinator.

Why the meeting is at a new venue

The McGuire Center is temporarily closed for renovations, so the usual combined SLS and ATL meeting moved off-campus to Cuscowilla. The announcement frames this as an "unusual new opportunity" and notes that the lepidopteran fauna of Cuscowilla was the subject of a 2025 study by several SLS-ATL specialists, published by David Fine and Montana Atwater in the August 2025 issue of Southern Lepidopterists' News. The co-chairs also thank Debbie Matthews, who arranged the details of past joint meetings and is handing over the reins.

Deadlines and logistics to keep in mind

• Registration due date: March 21, 2026. The announcement provides a downloadable registration form and a call for papers, and says payment can also be made on the TLS site.
• Meeting dates: April 17–19, 2026, at Cuscowilla Nature and Retreat Center, Micanopy, Florida.
• Scientific talks are scheduled for Friday afternoon (optional) and Saturday morning and afternoon.

If your question concerns registration or payment rather than the venue or volunteering, the registration form and the TLS payment link in the announcement are the direct routes; the co-chairs are the fallback for anything the form does not cover.