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Volume 29, Number 1
67
NOTES AND NEWS
THE LEPIDOPTERISTS' SOCIETY CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS (AS AMENDED JANUARY 1974)
WHEREAS, The Lepidopterists' Society was formed on May 4, 1947, to promote the scientifically sound and progressive study of Lepidoptera by—
1. publishing a periodical on Lepidoptera.
2. facilitating the exchange of specimens and notes by both the professional worker and the amateur in the field,
AND WHEREAS, it is now proposed to organize said Society in a more formal manner, the following Constitution and By-Laws are hereby adopted by the duly appointed Organization Committee. [1 October 1950]
Constitution
Article I. Name
Section 1. The organization shall be known as The Lepidopterists' Society.
Article II. Object
Section 1. The Lepidopterists' Society is a non-profit educational and scientific organization. It shall be the purpose of the Society to promote internationally the science of lepidopterology in all its branches; to further the scientifically sound and progressive study of Lepidoptera; to publish periodicals and other publications on Lepidoptera; to facilitate the exchange of specimens and ideas by both the professional worker and the amateur in the field; and to secure cooperation in all measures tending to that end.
Article III. Membership
Section 1. All persons interested in lepidopterology shall be eligible for membership.
Section 2. All individual subscribers to the Journal and the News of the Lepidopterists' Society, who have paid their current dues, shall be deemed members of the Society.
Section 3. The membership of the Society shall consist of five classes—Active, Student, Sustaining, Life, and Honorary Life members. All persons who joined the Society before January 1, 1948, shall be designated Charter members.
Section 4. Application for Active, Student, Sustaining, and Life membership in the Society, received by the Secretary or Treasurer and accompanied by the appropriate dues for the current year, shall constitute formalization of membership, and no nomination or election to membership shall be necessary. The annual and life dues shall be fixed by the By-Laws.
Section 5. Any member may become a Life Member upon the payment, at one time, of such sum as shall be fixed by the By-Laws, and shall be exempt from further assessment. He shall receive during his life a subscription to the Journal and the News of the Lepidopterists' Society. Life Membership fees shall be placed in a permanent Publication Fund.
Section 6. Individuals who have made important contributions to the science of lepidopterology may be elected Honorary Life Members of the Society. There shall not be more than ten living Honorary Life Members.
Section 7. Members one year in arrears in the payment of dues shall be dropped from the rolls by the Secretary.
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Section 8. The Executive Council may expel any member of the Society for such cause as it may deem sufficient for expulsion. This action may be taken only after unanimous approval by the members of the Council. Petition for expulsion shall be presented to the Secretary for presentation to the Council. On expulsion, the departing member shall be refunded all dues paid for the current year. An expelled member may be reinstated by unanimous affirmative vote of the Council.
Article IV. Officers
Section 1. The officers of the Society shall consist of a President, President-elect, three Vice-Presidents (not more than one Vice-President shall reside in one country), a Secretary, a Treasurer, a Secretary-elect and/or a Treasurer-elect, in these two offices, in years when there are incumbents.
Section 2. The business and affairs of the Society, not otherwise provided for, shall be controlled by an Executive Council, consisting of the President, Presidentelect, the most recent available Past President, three Vice-Presidents, the Secretary, the Secretary-elect, the Treasurer, the Treasurer-elect, and nine other members of the Society. Action on all amendments to the By-Laws and all appointments and elections by the Executive Council shall be obtained by a canvass by the Secretary of all members of the Council.
Section 3. The Executive Council may appoint one or more Assistant Secretaries or Assistant Treasurers to serve during the pleasure of the Council. The offices of Assistant Secretary and Assistant Treasurer may be filled by the same person.
Section 4. The Executive Council shall have power to make and adopt By-Laws for the conduct of the business and affairs of the Society and for the regulations of its procedure not inconsistent with the terms and provisions of the Constitution.
Article V. Elections
Section 1. The President shall before the first of July appoint a Nominating Committee who shall nominate no more than two candidates for each elective office to be filled for the ensuing year. Additional candidates may be nominated by submission to the Secretary of written nominations signed by not less than ten members. Ballots containing all nominations shall be mailed in November of each year, setting forth the officers to be elected and the names of those nominated for any office, their names shall be arranged alphabetically on the ballot.
Section 2. Election of Officers. All officers shall be elected by ballot. The President and all Vice-Presidents shall be elected for the term of one year, and shall be eligible to succeed themselves once. The Secretary and Treasurer shall be elected for the term of three years and shall be eligible to succeed themselves twice. The nine other elective members of the Executive Council shall be elected for the term of three years; three of them shall be replaced each year; these members shall not be eligible to succeed themselves. The President, the Secretary and the Treasurer shall be elected a year prior to the time they take office. For each office, the nominee receiving the highest number of ballots shall be elected. The President, Vice-Presidents, and newly-elected Members-at-Large of the Executive Council shall take office at the Business Meeting of the Annual Meeting following their election; in the event that no Annual Meeting is held in a given year, these officers shall assume office on the anniversary of the last Annual Meeting. All other officers shall take office at the beginning of the calendar year for which they are elected.
Section 3. Election of Honorary Life Members. Honorary Life Members shall be nominated by the unanimous vote of the members of the Executive Council. The nominee shall be voted on by mail ballot distributed to all members of the Society and reported in one of the Society's periodicals, and must receive 80% of all ballots cast to be elected. Not more than five Honorary Life Members may be elected at the first Annual Meeting, and not more than two in any one calendar year.
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Article VI. Duties of Officers
Section 1. The President shall preside at all meetings. He shall appoint all committees and be Chairman of the Executive Council and a member ex officio of all other committees, except the Editorial Board. He may appoint also delegates to other learned societies, congresses, and conventions.
Section 2. The First Vice-President shall assume the duties of the President in case of his death, resignation, absence, or disability.
Section 3. In case the President and all Vice-Presidents are absent at a meeting, a temporary Chairman may be chosen by a majority vote; he shall be member of the Executive Council unless none is present, in which event another member of the Society may be elected.
Section 4. The Secretary shall keep the minutes of the meetings of the Society and of the Executive Council; shall give notice of the meetings of the Society; shall attend to all general correspondence; shall keep all records and files of the Society; shall prepare and distribute ballots; and shall generally perform all services that may be delegated to him.
Section 5. The Assistant Secretary shall assume the duties of the Secretary in case of the death, resignation, absence, or disability of the Secretary, and shall assist the Secretary as need be.
Section 6. The Treasurer shall receive all monies for the Society and deposit them in the name of the Society in such banking institutions as the Executive Council shall direct. He shall pay therefrom by draft or check all bills and obligations of the Society; he shall keep an account of all monetary transactions and shall exhibit a statement of them when called for by the President or the Executive Council, and shall make a full report for the preceding calendar year at the annual meeting.
Section 7. The Assistant Treasurer shall assume the duties of the Treasurer in case of the death, resignation, absence, or disability of the Treasurer, and shall assist the Treasurer as need be.
Section 8. At the expiration of his term of office, each officer shall deliver to his successor all books, papers, funds, and vouchers belonging to the Society.
Section 9. The Society shall not and may not make any dividend, gift, division or bonus in money to any of its members.
Article VII. Meetings
Section 1. The annual meeting shall be held in affiliation with the International Congress of Entomology or the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, or at such other time and place as the Executive Council may determine. Notice of said meeting shall be given as provided in the By-Laws.
Section 2. Special meetings of the Society may be called by the Secretary upon the written request of the President or ten active members. Such request shall state the purpose for which the meeting is to be called and the time and place where it is to be held. No other business, except that specified in the call, shall be transacted, except by unanimous consent of the members present.
Article VIII. Publications
Section 1. The Society shall publish a periodical to be known as the "Journal of the Lepidopterists Society" a continuation of The Lepidopterists News. The Journal shall be devoted to original papers, literature abstracts, and other matter of permanent record. Each volume shall be issued for a calendar year, and shall be composed of four numbers. In it shall be published a summary of the proceedings of the annual meetings.
Section 2. The Society shall also issue a periodical to be known as "News of the Lepidopterists' Society," which shall be devoted primarily to notices by members,
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lists of new members, announcements of nominations, committee appointments, forthcoming meetings, summaries of the recent field collecting season, and other matter of interest to members but not requiring permanent record. It shall appear at more frequent intervals than the Journal. A list of members of the Society shall be issued at least every second year.
Section 3. The Society may issue from time to time serial publications to be known as "Memoirs of the Lepidopterists' Society7 to contain longer works than are normal for the Journal and the News. This shall be financed by a special fund, not by the annual dues, and shall be sold separately to members, at a lower price than to non-members.
Article IX. Editorial Board
Section 1. The publications of the Society shall be under the charge of an Editorial Board, consisting of a Chairman and two other at-large members, the Editor of the Journal, the Editor of the News, the Editor of the Memoirs, and the two Associate Editors of the Journal. The Chairman may also be one of the above five editors. It shall determine broad publication policies of the Society not otherwise provided for in the Constitution or the By-Laws. It shall consider potential candidates for editorships and then make recommendations to the Executive Council for appointment of the three Editors.
Section 2. The Chairman of the Editorial Board shall be appointed by the Executive Council for the term of three years, and he may be reappointed. The Executive Council shall appoint, on recommendation of the Editorial Board, the three Editors, for terms of three years each; all three Editors may succeed themselves once.
The Associate Editors and other members of the editorial committee of the Journal shall be appointed by the Journal Editor; their terms shall terminate with his term, but his successor may reappoint any of them.
Editorial committees or staff members of the News and the Memoirs shall be appointed by the respective Editors, but their terms shall terminate with those of their Editors; they may be reappointed.
Article X. Auditing Committee
Section 1. The President shall appoint an Auditing Committee consisting of three members who shall audit the accounts of the Treasurer and render their report to the Secretary before December 31st.
Article XI. Librarian
Section 1. The Librarian shall be appointed by the Executive Council. The Librarian shall serve for the term of three years, or until his successor shall have been appointed.
Section 2. The Librarian shall have charge of the library of the Society, and of all books, periodicals, reprints, and historical material received by the Society. He may make all necessary rules and regulations for the use of the library, not otherwise provided for in the Constitution or the By-Laws.
Article XII. Amendments
Section 1. The Constitution may be altered, amended, or repealed by a two-thirds vote of the members voting by mail ballot. Each proposal for amendment must be signed by not less than five members of the Society and submitted to the Secretary who will promptly transmit it to the Editors of the Journal and News. Each proposed amendment shall be published in one of the Society's periodicals at least three months before the annual ballot is mailed in November.
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Section 2. The By-Laws may be altered, amended, or repealed, by a majority vote of the members voting, at any meeting of the Executive Council or in a mail-canvass of the Council by the Secretary. All changes so validated shall be published in one of the Society's periodicals.
Article XIII. Dissolution
Section 1. Upon final dissolution or liquidation of the Society, all of its properties and assets remaining after payment of all outstanding liabilities shall be transferred, assigned and paid over as follows: The American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, New York 10024, and the California Academy of Sciences, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California 94118.
If any of the named organizations no longer qualify for exemptions under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or are not in existence, or unable or unwilling to accept such assets, such properties and assets shall be distributed to such organization or organizations organized and operated exclusively for charitable or educational purposes as shall at the time qualify as an organization or organizations exempt under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revune Code of 1954 (or corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue Laws), as the Executive Council shall determine.
Article XIV. General Prohibitions
Section 1. Notwithstanding any provision of the Constitution or By-Laws which might be susceptible to a contrary construction:
(a) the Society shall be organized exclusively for scientific and educational purposes;
(b) the Society shall be operated exclusively for scientific and educational purposes;
(c) no part of the net earnings of the Society shall or may under any circumstances inure to the benefit of any private individual;
(d) no substantial part of the activities of the Society shall consist of carrying on propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation;
(e) the Society shall not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office;
(f) the Society shall not be organized or operated for profit;
(g) the Society shall not:
(1) lend any part of its income or corpus, without receipt of adequate security and reasonable rate of interest, to;
(2) pay any compensation, in excess of a reasonable allowance for salaries or other compensation for personal services actually rendered, to;
(3) make any part of its services available on a preferential basis to;
(4) make any purchase of securities or any other property, for more than adequate consideration in money or money's worth, from;
(5) sell any securities or other property for less than adequate consideration in money or money's worth to; or
(6) engage in any other transactions which result in substantial diversions of its income or corpus to; any officer, member of the Governing Board, or substantial contributor to the Society.
The prohibitions contained in this subsection (g) do not mean to imply that the Society may make such loans, payments, sales or purchases to anyone else, unless such authority be given or implied by other provisions of the Constitution or By-Laws.
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By-Laws
Article I. Dues
Section 1. All dues shall be payable by January 1 of each year, and shall be deemed in arrears on February 15 of that year.
Section 2. Publications of the Society shall not be mailed to any member whose dues are in arrears.
Section 3. The annual dues shall be waived for the Secretary, the Treasurer, and the Editors of the Journal and News, while they are in office; they shall continue to receive all publications of the Society.
Section 4. Honorary Life Members shall pay no annual dues, but shall receive a subscription to all publications of the Society.
Section 5. Beginning with 1971, the annual dues for Active Members shall be Ten Dollars, U.S.A. ($10.00). Active membership shall include a subscription to the Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society, including Supplements, and the News of the Lepidopterists' Society.
Section 6. Beginning with 1973, the annual dues for Student Members shall be Seven Dollars and Fifty Cents, U.S.A. ($7.50). Student membership shall include a subscription to the Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society, including Supplements, and the News of the Lepidopterists' Society.
Section 7. Beginning with 1971, the annual dues for Sustaining Members shall be Twenty Dollars, U.S.A. ($20.00). Sustaining membership shall include a subscription to the Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society, including Supplements, and the News of the Lepidopterists' Society.
Section 8. Beginning with 1971, Life Members shall pay the sum of One Hundred Fifty Dollars, U.S.A. ($150.00). Each Life Member shall receive a subscription to the regular Society publications during his life.
Section 9. Beginning with 1971, institutional subscription fees shall be Fifteen Dollars, U.S.A. ($15.00). This will include the Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society, including Supplements, and the News of the Lepidopterists' Society.
Article II. Gifts
Section 1. The Society shall not make gift memberships to individuals or subscriptions to institutions. Society members are encouraged to sponsor gift memberships to deserving lepidopterists in foreign countries whose monetary policy prohibits sending currency out of their country.
Section 2. The Society may exchange issues of the Journal for other desirable lepidopterological periodicals upon the approval and recommendation of the Society Librarian. Such acquisitions shall remain in the Society Library, but may be loaned to its members in good standing.
Article III. Reprints
Section 1. Beginning with 1971, gratis separates (tear sheets) to Journal authors will be discontinued.
Article IV. Meetings
Section 1. Notice of all meetings of the Society shall be printed in the News of the Lepidopterists' Society at least two months in advance thereof.
Section 2. A majority of members present at an annual meeting, or represented by proxy, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, not otherwise provided for.