BR. J. ENT. NAT. HIST., 7: 1994 Ml 



EDITORIAL 



Long series not welcome 



Members will have noticed that for some years the following statement has appeared 

 on the Society's Annual Exhibition Notice: 



Long series of rare or endangered 

 insects will not be welcome. 



The idea that entomologists are like stamp collectors, displaying drawer after drawer 

 of pristine specimens as if striving for a complete set, is not a notion which we, as 

 modern naturalists, enjoy. The common misconception that entomologists are mindless 

 collectors is an impression we should not be encouraging. 



For the 1993 notice another sentence was added: 



Long series of any insect taken from 

 the same locality will not be welcome. 



For the sake of saving embarrassment to individual members and to the Society, 

 the Council has discussed what its policy should be with regard to exhibits of 

 "threatened" or "scarce" insects, and exactly how long a long series is. 



The Annual Exhibition is the Society's largest, most popular, and most public event. 

 We must be aware not only of the opportunity it gives for the Society to advertise 

 its work, but also the opportunity it gives to everyone to scrutinize the Society's 

 activities. 



Today the Society enjoys a reputation as Britain's foremost field entomological 

 society. Its voice is heard in governmental and non-governmental organizations 

 through its contacts with Wildlife Link. Its opinions are sought out by national and 

 local conservation groups. Its members are widely active throughout the country in 

 a variety of special interest groups and recording schemes. The Society must anticipate 

 and counter any disquiet, real or imagined, felt by the general public who may \ ie\\ 

 collecting with anything from mild interest and humorous derision to suspicion and 

 outright disgust. 



The need for collecting insects is not in doubt, the arguments in its favour are 

 forceful and well-founded. For the majority of insects, collecting is necessary to ensure 

 correct identification. Frequently, a reference collection is the only means of achieving 

 this correct identification. Surveys require the retention of voucher specimens. 

 Collecting can harm only a handful of recognized and nominated species regarded 

 as being exceptionally vulnerable. 



What is at issue is the image of the BENHS, an image which we should seek to 

 sustain as a society of concerned and responsible entomologists who demonstrate 

 respect for nature and respect for conservation. 



How rare is rare? 



In current jargon "rare" means having red data book (RDB) status. RDB3 is 

 officially designated as "rare", and since RDB2 ("vulnerable") and RDB1 

 ("endangered") are even rarer than "rare" they too must be included in a general 

 definition. A list of RDB1, 2 and 3 macrolepidoptera is appended below. 



