Herbert Edward Andrewes was born on November 9, 1863, in Reading, Berkshire, England.

He was a British stockbroker and entomologist who specialized in beetles of the order Coleoptera. He was educated at the Forestry school in Nancy, France, now INRA. In 1885, he entered the Indian Forest Service. His next post was at the British Museum (Natural History), where he specialized in Carabidae. He was a prolific author, writing over 120 short scientific papers in addition to catalogues, taxonomic works, faunal monographs, and identification manuals. Andrewes was a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society from 1910 until his death (Council 1920-22). The Society holds his library. Most of Andrewes' personal collection is in the Natural History Museum, London, together with beetles from Sikkim collected by Herbert Stevens. Further collections, including syntypes and a collection from India, Burma, New Guinea, Natal, and Tennessee, including syntypes of Martin Jacoby, Walther Hermann Richard Horn, and Maurice Auguste Régimbart (1900), are in the Oxford University Museum. Other parts of Andrewes' collection are found in the Natural History Museum of Giacomo Doria, Genoa, Italy.

He died on December 16, 1950, in Highgate, London, England.