THE COUNCIL OF THE ENTOI^IOLOrTlCAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. 21 



well-spotted race, with a tendency, if anything, in the males to 

 develop broken bands, and in the females to suppress the underside 

 coloration of the type and develop that of the ab. ochracca. 



The Council of the Entomological Society of London. 



By H. St. J. K. DONISTHORPE, F.Z.S., F.E.S., and W. J. KAYE, F.E.S. 



Never since the Entomological Society of London obtained its 

 Charter has there, we believe, been an actual election of the members 

 of Council by the Fellows of the Society. For many years, neverthe- 

 less, there have been murmurs from various Fellows at the cut-and- 

 dried method of appointing the Council and officers of the Society. 

 Sometimes this has taken the form of a protest made by a provincial 

 society, many of whose members are Fellows of the premier society ; 

 at other times it has consisted of a personal growl from one Fellow to 

 the others, and then there has never been wanting the criticism of the 

 useful individual who is on principle " agin the government," and is 

 always prepared to urge the Society to do better than before, however 

 satisfactory the progress may have been. This dissatisfaction, how- 

 ever, need never have found voice, nor, in reality, has any Fellow 

 cause for complaint, for a glance at the bye-laAvs will show that it has 

 always been in the hands of a majority of the FelloAvs, to place whom- 

 soever they chose on the Council and to elect whomsoever they 

 pleased as officials. The Council of the Society has, in this matter, 

 a very simple duty to perform, c/c, to recommend to the Society the 

 names of such Fellows as it thinks might be elected as officers or 

 as members of the Council. The duty is a ncessary one, for it might 

 otherwise happen that an insufficient number of Fellows might be 

 nominated for the posts of officers and Council, and difficulties would 

 possibly arise. On the other hand any four Fellows may nominate 

 other candidates either as ofiicers or members of the Council, and 

 the election by ballot is made at the annual meeting. We are not 

 aware that the Council has wished to take upon itself, what is 

 evidently the inalienable right of the Fellows, riz., the election of 

 officers and Council, they simply select a sufficiency of names of 

 Fellows to fill the various offices, and thus prevent a hiatus. They do 

 not even say that the names suggested are the best possible that could 

 be selected, although one suspects that this is the opinion of, at least, 

 a majority of the Council. 



It may happen, therefore, that the opinions of the Council 

 and of the Fellows generally, may differ widely as to the fitness 

 of particular individuals selected to represent them, and the 

 latter may reasonably be excused if they prefer to select their 

 own representatives in their own way, and, many may wish to do 

 this, in spite of their general acquiescence in the selection made 

 for them, unless some more active individuals take the necessary steps 

 under the bye-laws to nominate other candidates. At this time of day, 

 progress is rapid, the requirements of science are imperative, and it is 

 absolutely necessary if a Society is to progress and to remain successful, 

 that only the best men be selected. At the present time entomologists 

 comprise a heterogeneous combination of specialists — lepidopterists, 

 coleopterists, hymenopterists, dipterists, orthopterists, hemipterists, 

 &c. — and it is evident that representatives of the workers in these 



