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Horace St. John Kelly Donisthorpe, F.Z.S, F.R.E.S, &c. ( March 17, 1870 - April 22, 1951) was an eccentric British myrmecologist and coleopterist, memorable in part for his renaming of the genus Lasius after himself as Donisthorpea, and for his many claims of discovering new species of beetles and ants.

1 Biography

Educated at Mill Hill House, Leicester and Oakham Grammar School, Donisthorpe went to Heidelberg University to read medicine. However, his "too sensitive nature" forced him to give up this career, and, being possessed of a private income, from about 1890 he devoted his life to the study of beetles and ants.

Frank Bouskell, who described Donisthorpe as "his oldest friend", wrote in ERJV, 63, 1951, p.228, upon his death

"He did his early collecting with me at Bradgate Park, Bardon Hill and Budon Wood where he was first interested in ants and their hosts. About this time I first introduced him to Mr F. Bates, brother of Bates of the Amazons, who later gave him his almost complete collection of Coleoptera. Later on we went to Wicken Fen, the New Forest, Isle of WightThe Isle of Wight is an island off the south coast of England opposite Southampton. Colloquially, it is known as 'The Island' by residents. Its population was 132,731 in the 2001 census (and 126,600 in 1991). The Island has a single MP (currently Andrew T, etc... I should [also] mention our joint trip to South Kerry".

Probably the best known of his collecting grounds was Windsor great parkWindsor (usually pronounced 'winzer', but the d may be included) is a small town in Berkshire on the south-western outskirts of London, south of the River Thames. It is the location of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British royal fa where he had permission to collect extensively and where so many of his important discoveries were made.

Donisthorpe was controversial in part because he was considered overeager in his attempts to identify new species of ants and beetles. In fact, of the 30 new species he identified, 24 were deemed to be insufficiently distinct to be considered separate species. See Insect species and subspecies described by Horace Donisthorpe that were later considered invalid for more details on some of these. It is, however, accepted that he did indeed identify the following new species: Cercyon aguatilis, Leptacinus intermediusLeptacinus intermedius is a European staphylinid (or rove beetle), described in 1935 by Horace Donisthorpe. Like most of the staphylinids, L. intermedius and its larvae are predaceous towards other insects. Members of this family can usually be identified, Ilyobates bennetti, Micrambe aubrooki, Gymnetron lloydi, and Xyleborus sampsoni—all named to honor his colleagues.

2 Books by Donisthorpe

• The Coleoptera of the Isle of Wight. Published in 1906Events January 8 Landslide in Haverstraw, New York kills 20 January 31 Earthquake in Ecuador (8. 6 in Richter scale) February 11 Pope Pius X publishes the encyclical Vehementer nos''. February 15 Representatives of the Labour Representation Committee in t by the Leics. Lit. Phil. Soc.. The supplementary sixth volume was compiled with W. W. Fowler to the latter's Coleoptera of the British Isles in 19131913 is a common year starting on Wednesday. click on link for calendar) Events January-March January 30 House of Lords rejects Irish Home Rule Bill February 1 New York City's Grand Central Station opens as the world's largest train station. February 3 Th;

• British Ants: their life histories and classification. First published in 1915, this book was reviewed and republished in 1927, and was the first major book ever written on British antsCompared to much of the rest of Europe, the UK is not a 'hot spot' for ants . The size and diversity of ant species in any area is largely determined for the highest summer soil temperature, and this being so, it is not surprising that the greatest concen. Although the first edition contained all the species known at the time (and one, Leptothorax corticalis which was lated found to be erroneous), the second edition contained the addition of Lasius brunneus, a small, arboreal ants of the Lasius mixtusb group found principally in orchards in the home counties. The 1927 edition was, however, too early for any mention of strongylodus testacious, which Donisthorpe discovered in the New Forest several years later.

• The Guests of British Ants. Published in 1927, the same year as the revision of British Ants: their life histories and classification took place. This book deals with myrmecophiles of British ants, some of them ants themselves (e.g. Formicoxenus and Anergates. It also mentions and debunks theories regarding the effect that the presence of a species of beetle (of the genus Atemeles ) has on the number of pseudogyne s in colonies of the larger formica (ant) species.

• An Annotated List of the Additions to the British Coleopterous Fauna. Published in 1931, the title serves to be self-explanatory.

• A Preliminary List of the Coleoptera of Windsor Forest. Published in 1939, Donisthorpe dedicated the book to the memory of Florence Jane Kirk, his constant companion on collecting trips. In it he writes: "In memory of Jane Kirk, whose patience, skill, and unfailing energy were of invaluable help in attaining the results set forth in these pages."

The book consists of a preamble detailing the various features of Windsor Great Park and its ancient forests, and a list of the many hundreds of Coleoptera Donisthorpe collected there, with brief habitat details for each species.