Herbert Willoughby Ellis (28 June 1869-15 October 1943) was a British entomologist.

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 The Royal Entomological Society is a learned society devoted to the study of insects. It aims to disseminate information about insects and to improve communication between entomologists. The society was founded in 1833 as the Entomological S ...

in 1900 and he served on its council in 1924, 1931, 1936, and 1938. He was also a member of the

British Ornithologists' Union The British Ornithologists' Union (BOU) aims to encourage the study of birds (ornithology) around the world in order to understand their biology and aid their conservation. The BOU was founded in 1858 by Professor Alfred Newton, Henry Baker ...

and a Fellow of the

Geological Society of London The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe, with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...

. 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. He also corresponded and exchanged specimens with William Gabriel Blatch, acquiring some of Blatch's collection after his death. After his death,

Reginald Wagstaffe Reginald Wagstaffe (28 July 1907 – 1983) was an English naturalist, ornithologist, and museum curator. He was curator of the Yorkshire Museum, and then from 1948 was the Keeper of Vertebrate Zoology at Liverpool City Museum. Wagstaffe fou ...

and Walter Douglas Hincks (both naturalists) were instrumental in purchasing part of his collection for the

Yorkshire Museum The Yorkshire Museum is a museum in York, England. It was opened in 1830, and has five permanent collections, covering biology, geology, archaeology, numismatics and astronomy. History The museum was founded by the Yorkshire Philosophical Soci ...

. Over 100,000 specimens were purchased in 1945.

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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Herbert Willoughby 1869 births 1943 deaths British entomologists Fellows of the Royal Entomological Society Fellows of the Geological Society of London People from Burton upon Trent