The Entomological Society of Washington was organized on February 29, 1884 at a meeting called by three
entomologist
Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...
Charles Valentine Riley
Charles Valentine Riley (18 September 1843 – 14 September 1895) was a British-born American entomologist and artist. He was one of the first individuals to use biological pest control and authored over 2,400 publications. He convinced Congress ...
Leland Ossian Howard
Leland Ossian Howard (June 11, 1857 – May 1, 1950) was a pioneer American entomologist who worked in the US Department of Agriculture. Serving as the chief of the bureau of entomology, a successor to C.V. Riley, he helped establish economic en ...
, in Riley's home in
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
Meetings have been held regularly since 1884. Several local locations were used as meeting places after it became impractical to hold meetings in members' homes, including the Washington Saengerbund Hall, the
Cosmos Club
The Cosmos Club is a 501(c)(7) private social club in Washington, D.C., that was founded by John Wesley Powell in 1878 as a gentlemen's club for those interested in science. Among its stated goals is, "The advancement of its members in science, ...
, and the
National Museum of Natural History
The National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. With 4.4 ...
of the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
.
The official seal of the society was adopted at the society's November 2, 1893 meeting and first appeared in March 1894. The insect featured in the seal is a winged male ''Rheumatobates rileyi'' Bergroth (
Hemiptera
Hemiptera (; ) is an order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising more than 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, assassin bugs, bed bugs, and shield bugs. They range in size from ...
,
Gerridae
The Gerridae are a family of insects in the order Hemiptera, commonly known as water striders, water skeeters, water scooters, water bugs, pond skaters, water skippers, water gliders, water skimmers or puddle flies. They are true bugs of the ...
), a water strider about 7 mm long including outstretched legs.
Early members included
Charles Valentine Riley
Charles Valentine Riley (18 September 1843 – 14 September 1895) was a British-born American entomologist and artist. He was one of the first individuals to use biological pest control and authored over 2,400 publications. He convinced Congress ...
Leland Ossian Howard
Leland Ossian Howard (June 11, 1857 – May 1, 1950) was a pioneer American entomologist who worked in the US Department of Agriculture. Serving as the chief of the bureau of entomology, a successor to C.V. Riley, he helped establish economic en ...
Charles Henry Tyler Townsend
Charles Henry Tyler Townsend (December 5, 1863 – March 17, 1944) was an American entomologist specializing in the study of tachinids (Tachinidae), a large and diverse family of flies (Diptera) with larvae that are parasitoids of other insects. H ...
,
Nathan Banks
Nathan Banks (April 13, 1868 – January 24, 1953) was an American entomologist noted for his work on Neuroptera, Megaloptera, Hymenoptera, and Acarina (mites). He started work on mites in 1880 with the USDA. In 1909 he reported many Costa Rican ...
In March 1886, the society began publishing the '' Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington''. Of the dozens of entomological societies that have existed for varying periods, only three in the Americas having continued uninterrupted publication of their periodicals are older than the Entomological Society of Washington.