As we near the end of Women’s History Month 2025, we look back at the first women Members of the Society.
Unusually for a learned Society at the time, women have been eligible for membership since the Society’s founding in 1833, and the first female Member was elected in that year. Our early Members and Fellows were active in many areas of entomology, from butterfly collecting to pest control.
Find out more about the fascinating lives of these pioneering women in entomology:
Who turned down a proposal from a future prime minister?
Who travelled to over 60 countries collecting butterflies?
Which famous author wrote a short story about the life of one of our Members?
