He was one of five surviving children of Cecilia Brown and William Howes, a post office clerk and accountant from England.

His elder sister Edith, who would become a writer and educationalist, was born in 1872 before the family migrated to New Zealand.

[2] Howes authored scientific papers on entomology, concentrating on New Zealand Lepidoptera, and described numerous species new to science.

[6] Owing to his acknowledged entomological expertise, Howes was invited to be part of the 1924 Chatham Islands expedition.

[7][8] Howes was involved in the planning, establishment and management of the aquarium at the New Zealand and South Seas International Exhibition in 1925 on Logan Park, Dunedin.