146 THE ESSEX NATURALIST
OBITUARY NOTICES
HUGH MAIN, B.Sc., F.R.E.S., F.Z.S.
Mr. Hugh Main passed away in his 80th year on March 1st, 1948. He
became a member of the Essex Field Club in 1917 and at the time of his death
was a member of its Council on which he had served since 1931. He was a
regular exhibitor at the Club's meetings until 1944 when his attendances were
terminated by failing health. By profession he was a chemist. He worked
at Messrs. Tate and Lyte's Thames Sugar Refinery for over 50 years, during
a great part of which he was Chief Chemist and he attained international
fame as a sugar technologist.
His spare time was devoted to the study of insects and other small animals.
In his early years he worked with his brother-in-law, the late Mr. Albert
Harrison, on the genetics of the Green-veined White butterfly, the Grey
Arches moth and several other moths. Later he embarked on the study of
the life-history of insects of all orders which was the work for which he became
so well known. He was an expert photographer and spared neither time
nor energy in order to obtain first-class pictures of the various stages of the
insects he had under observation. In this work he found it necessary to
design and construct cages to keep and to photograph the insects in sur-
roundings as natural as possible. Notable among these was his "sub-
terrarium" in which a layer of earth was confined between two sheets of
glass, thus enabling the underground stages of insects to be watched and
photographed.
When out with Hugh Main on a field excursion it was most interesting to
notice the calm way in which he tracked down the object of his search and
to listen to the amusing stories that he had to tell about his captures. He
was always interested in what others were doing, offering them good advice
from his wide experience and encouraging them to take up the study of the
living insect. His studies took him to the Continent and each year he jour-
neyed to some special locality to obtain a particular specimen ; on his return
he exhibited the captures alive at the Club's meetings and often shared his
specimens with others. He was an ardent admirer of J. H. Fabre and
visited the localities in which that great French naturalist had lived and
collected. From these visits he brought home many of the insects which
had occupied Fabre's attention and by keeping them alive was able to add
to our knowledge of them. On one occasion he paid a visit to the house
and garden in which Fabre did much of his work and on his return gave us
an account of his visit entitled "A Pilgrimage to Provence."
He contributed several original illustrated papers to the Essex Naturalist,
and it is to be regretted that he did not write more often for publication.
His photographs, however, tell the story even better than words ; they are
so life-like and instructive that many authors have used them to illustrate
their books and articles, where they form a lasting memorial to his life's work.
Hugh Main joined the Entomological Society of London, now the Royal
Entomological Society, in 1899 and served on its Council in 1908-10 and
1939-41 ; he was elected a Vice-President in 1945 and a Special Life Fellow
in 1945 in recognition of his service to entomology. His passing means the
loss of an enthusiastic and practical student of insect life-histories, but his
work will be carried on by numerous younger workers who have benefited
by his influence.
E. E. Syms.
BARON NOEL EDWARD NOEL-BUXTON
Baron Noel-Buxton, who had been a member of the Club since 1887,
passed away on September 12th, 1948, at the age of 79.