24-0 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST 



OBITUARY. 



F. W. L. SLAD15N. 



Canadian Entomologists were shocked to learn of the accidental death 

 by drowning of Mr. F. W. L. Sladen, Dominion Apiarist, which occurred off 

 Duck Island in Lake Ontario on September 10th, 1921. 



For several years he had been conducting important experiments in the 

 rearing of bees. On August last he left Ottawa for the above island, which is 

 about 20 miles distant from Kingston, Ont. He had been in the habit of 

 bathing in the shallow water close to the shore; unfortunately he could not 

 swim. On the above date he went in bathing as usual and it is assumed that 

 his heart, which had troubled hinr for several years, failed to function, thus 

 causing his death. The body, which was recovered about seventy feet from 

 the shore, was partially floating, unswollen, and no water was found in the lungs. 



In the death of Mr. Sladen, entomology in Canada loses a very careful 

 worker. Other than the reputation he had gained as a successful apiarist and 

 student of bee rearing, he was well known in Canada, as also in the United 

 States and England, as a close, systematic student of the aculeate hymenoptera. 

 He had a wide knowledge of the wild bees, and his writings indicate a careful 

 taxonomic acquaintance with the various characters of the groups he studied. 



The collections he brought together not only indicate keen powers of 

 observation, but also the intense pleasure he derived in gathering series of 

 interesting species collected while afield in various parts of Canada, particularly 

 in the West. 



. The late Mr. Sladen came to Canada in 1912 to join the staff of the 



old Divisioi> of Entomology, as Assistant Entomologist for Apiculture. When 

 the Division of Entomology was separated from the Experimental Farms 

 Branch in 1914 and raised to the status of a Branch of the Department of 

 Agriculture, Mr. Sladen was retained by the Experimental Farms Branch as 

 Apiarist. More recently his title was changed to Dominion Apiarist. Since 

 1914, however, he has always had a close connection with the Entomological 

 Branch, having been, in fact, largely responsible for the identification and 

 arrangement of the aculeate hymenoptera in the National Collection of Insects. 



He was a Fellow of the Entomological Society of London, member of 

 the Entomological Society of America, Entomological Society of Ontario, 

 Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club, etc. 



As an author he was best known as the writer of "Queen Rearing in 

 England" and "The Humble Bee," both excellent treatises. He was a frequent 

 contributor of the Canadian Entomologist, Canadian Field Naturalist and other 

 scientific journals. One of his most recent papers was the report he prepared 

 on the Wasps and Bees collected by members of the Canadian Arctic Expedi- 

 tion of 1913-1918. 



Arthur CiIbsgn. 



Mailed February 3, 1922. 



