THE NEW YORK
ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY, INC.
Incorporating The Brooklyn Entomological Society
A SHORT HISTORY of the
SOCIETY
The New York Entomological Society was first imagined by a small
group of men in 1892. Original members were
insect collectors and naturalists who informally met in the home of Mr. Gustav
Beyer, a fur manufacturer, and they often would take walks in his garden,
peruse his insect collections, discuss collecting experiences, or show and
trade their specimens.
Finally on June 29, 1892, five entomologists met in the home of
Mr. Charles Palm of 172 East 64th Street, to formally organize the
Society. Mrs. Annie Trumbull Slosson,
on October 26, 1892, was the first woman to become a member of the
Society. The custom of the yearly
auction began in 1893 at which time beetles, moths and butterflies were sold.
Meetings originally were held on the first and third Wednesdays of
every month, except July and August.
September meetings were dropped in 1898. Bimonthly meetings continued through the 1960s and early '70s
alternating between Lepidoptera and Coleoptera lectures, but meetings now are
held on the third Tuesday from October through May.
The first issue of the Journal of The New York Entomological
Society was published in March of 1893, and it is still in publication. Authors deal with many aspects of
entomology, but the theme is of a systematic or taxonomic nature including
biology and ecology. Editors have
occasionally arranged special editions in which specific themes were followed
and certain editions honored specific entomologists.
Since 1894, when the Society was the recipient of a donation from
the family of George D. Branford, it has received many gifts. These include bequests from the late Lewis
B. Woodruff, Patricia Vaurie and Charles P. Alexander. Proceeds from the endowments from the latter
two individuals have assisted in lowering our costs for authors.
On January 7, 1958 the Society resolved to sponsor a Junior
Entomological Division. Miss Alice Gray
became its director and because of her dedication to encourage the study of
insects in young people caused the Junior Division to flourish. The Junior Division disbanded when the
younger generations went to other disciplines, but there has been a resurgence
in past years.
Two photographic exhibits have been sponsored by the Society and
held at the American Museum of Natural History. The first was in May-June, 1949 during which time both paintings
and photographs were displayed in the Foyer of the Roosevelt Hall. In 1950, the second was held in the 77th
Street Foyer. Photographs, research
equipment, painting, charts, drawings, insect origami, and a display of books
written by Society members were present.
A 5-panel display from the National Institute of Health on
Rickettsialpox, a newly recognized mite-borne disease, was also installed.
Anniversary meetings honored the twenty-fifth, fiftieth and
seventy-fifth years. The first had been
preceded by a dinner that was held at the Hotel Colonial on June 7, 1918 to
commemorate the 25th year of the Incorporation of the Society. The 50th was celebrated on December 1,
1942. The 75th Anniversary was held on
October 29, 1968 at the Museum with cocktails served in Roosevelt Rotunda and
dinner in Whitney followed by adjournment to Lecture Hall. The consolidation between The New York
Entomological Society and the Brooklyn Entomological Society was also
celebrated on this date.
The Brooklyn Entomological Society had been founded in 1872, and
at the time of its merger with The New York Entomological Society in 1968, was
four years away from its centennial. It
was the second oldest organization of its kind in America, the first being the
American Entomological Society in Philadelphia.
The New York Entomological Society Centennial Banquet was held at
the Explorers Club (46 East 70th Street) on Wednesday, May 20, 1992. Over 140 people attended with a good portion
being the media from world-wide television and radio because the theme for the
evening was the use of insects as food.
Appetizers and desserts featured insects in their preparations. Our keynote speaker was Dr. Gene DeFoliart
of the University of Wisconsin who is a leading authority on the subject. He also published a newsletter called the
Food Insects Newsletter.
Elsie B. Klots. 1968. A
History of The New York Entomological Society. In: The 75th Anniversary of the
Society.
Charles W. Leng. 1918.
History of The New York Entomological Society, 1893-1918. Journal of The New York Entomological
Society. 26:129-133.
Anne T. Slosson. 1918.
Reminiscences of the early days of The New York Entomological
Society. Journal of The New York
Entomological Society. 26:134-137.
Harry B. Weiss. 1948. The
New York Entomological Club and "Papilio". Journal of The New York Entomological Society. 56:119-136.
Formal presentations as to the history of the Society may be found
in the aforementioned publications.
The New York Entomological Society was founded in 1862, and has
since held a distinguished position among scientific and cultural
organizations. On May 21, 1968, The
Brooklyn Entomological Society consolidated with the New York Entomological
Society. Members and subscribers are
drawn from all parts of the world and include professional biologists,
enthusiastic amateurs, and laymen for whom insects are only one amid many
interests. The Society's Journal is
among the oldest leading entomological periodical in the United States.
Meetings are normally held on the third Tuesday of every month, September
through May (not December), at 7 PM at the American Museum of Natural History during which
time a subject of biological and entomological interest is discussed by our
invited speaker. No special training in
biology or entomology is necessary for the enjoyment of most of these talks,
most of which are illustrated.
Our organization is associated with BioOne, the website is : www.bioone.org. You can search our table of contents by author, title, key
words, and receive abstracts or full text articles.
We carry back issues of Society publications, including the
Journal, Bulletin of the Brooklyn Entomological Society, Entomologica
Americana, and the revised Torre-Bueno Glossary of Entomology, the two spider catalogs, scorpion catalog,
mirid catalog, and lygaeid catalogs. The
Harper Lyme Disease Poster is also available.
Members of the Society may purchase our publications at a $5.00 off the
listed rate. Please contact us if there
are any questions at nyes@amnh.org
Membership Costs
PLEASE MAKE PAYMENT TO THE NEW YORK ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. Payments must be in U.S. funds; foreign
checks must be drawn on a bank with U.S. offices. Life membership can now be purchased, payable in one or two
annual installments. Tax-deductible
contributions are also solicited. Domestic UPS and foreign surface mail costs
included on all book orders. Please
include additional $10.00 per book for foreign airmail shipments.
Life Membership, two payments of $250 or in full ... $500.00
Sustaining Membership, 2009, Vol. No. 115 ... $53.00
Regular Membership, 2009, Vol. No. 115 … $35.00
Student Membership, 2009, Vol. No. 115 … $25.00
Regular Membership without Journal, 2009, Vol. No. 115 ... $10.00
Student Membership without Journal, 2009, Vol. No. 115 ... $5.00
Institutional Subscription, U.S., Canada, Mexico, 2009, Vol. No.115
... $85.00
Institutional Subscription, Foreign, 2009, Vol. No. 115 ... $95.00
Previous Years Journals
Cost per volume is $100.00 or $30.00 per issue.
1997 (v.105), 1998 (v.106), 1999 (v.107), 2000 (v.108), 2001
(v.109), 2002 (v.110), 2003 (v.111), 2004 (v.112), 2005 (v.113), 2006 (v.114)
Please contact Lubrecht & Cramer (see below) if you require older runs of our Journal.
Books published by the Society
(Members subtract $5.00)
The Torre-Bueno Glossary of Entomology, 1989 ... $45.00
Advances in Spider Taxonomy, 1995 ...special price... $60.00
Advances in Spider Taxonomy, 1993 ...out-of-print… $80.00
Catalog of Miridae, 1995 … $75.00
Catalog of Lygaeidae, supplement, 1995 ... $35.00
Catalog of Lygaeidae, 1964 (original 2 volumes) ... $55.00
Catalog of Scorpions, 2000 … $65.00
Please contact us if you have any questions.
THE NEW YORK ENTOMOLOGICAL
SOCIETY, INC.
Incorporating the
Brooklyn Entomological Society, Inc.
The American Museum of Natural History
Central Park West at
79th Street
New York, N. Y.
10024-5192
Voice: 212.769.5613
Fax: 212.769.5277
Email: nyes@amnh.org
Another Source for Publications:
Lubrecht & Cramer,
Ltd.
78 Front Street, Suite 76
Port Jervis, NY 12771
Website: http://www.lubrechtcramer.com
Email: books@lubrechtcramer.com
Tel/Fax 800.920.9334 U.S., Canada
Tel/Fax 845.856.5990 Overseas
is our agent for back issues and also stocks many other
publications of a natural history nature.