Herbert Willoughby Ellis Explained

Herbert Willoughby Ellis (28 June 1869-15 October 1943) was a British entomologist.^{[1] [2] [3]}

Biography

Ellis was born in Woodville, Burton-upon-Trent. He attended Nuneaton School and Coppers Hill College before training as an electrician.

In 1890 he joined the Birmingham Natural History and Philosophical Society. He served as a Vice-President of the society in 1907 and then from 1910 to 1939, and as its President in 1908 and 1909. Ellis was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society in 1900 and he served on its council in 1924, 1931, 1936, and 1938. He was also a member of the British Ornithologists' Union and a Fellow of the Geological Society of London.

Ellis was an avid collector of entomology, especially of coleoptera and amassed a large reference collection. He was responsible for finding and recording the discovery of Arhopalus ferus (then as "Criocephalus polonicus") as new to Britain.^[4] He also corresponded and exchanged specimens with William Gabriel Blatch,^[5] acquiring some of Blatch's collection after his death.^[6]

After his death, Reginald Wagstaffe and Walter Douglas Hincks (both naturalists) were instrumental in purchasing part of his collection for the Yorkshire Museum. Over 100,000 specimens were purchased in 1945.^[7]

Select publications

• 1901. "Bagous cylindricus, Payk., in Bedfordshire", Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation 8, 140.
• 1903. "Coleoptera in the Isle of Wight", Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation 15, 130-131.
• 1903. Criocephalus polonicus (Molsch.): A Genus and species of Longhorn Coleopteran new to Britain, Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation 15, 259-260.
• 1904. "Coleoptera", in The Victoria History of the Counties of England - A History of Warwickshire" I, 77-124.
• 1913. "Insects", in British Association for the Advancement of Science: A Handbook for Birmingham and the Neighbourhood, 502-528.

Notes and References

1. Book: Denton, M. . 1993 . Ground Beetles in the Yorkshire Museum . North Yorkshire County Council . 5–8.
2. Blair, K.G. . 1943 . Obituary: Willoughby-Ellis, Herbert . Entomologist's Monthly Magazine . 79 . 280.
3. Cockayne, E.A. . Obituary: Ellis, Herbert Willoughby . Proceedings of the Royal Entomological Society of London . 8 . 69.
4. Criocephalus polonicus (Molsch.): A Genus and species of Longhorn Ceoleoptera new to Britain . Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation . 1903 . 15 . 259–260.
5. Web site: Blatch, William Gabriel . UK Coleoptera . 7 December 2021.
6. Reviews and Notices of Books: The Coleoptera in the Victoria History of the County of Warwick . Horace . 1905 . 165–166 . 17.
7. . 1968 . A List of Botanical and Zoological Collections at the Yorkshire Museum, York . The Naturalist . 904 . 85–89 .