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Professor James R. Bell

Professor James R. Bell

Title
Professor of Entomology
Location
Huxley, Room 102
Role
Research Entomologist
Contact me
Email
Phone
+44 1782 732527
Email
j.r.bell@keele.ac.uk

Biography

Biography

Plant health

James is a quantitative ecologist and entomologist. He is an expert on hemipteran vectors that transmit plant diseases, with a focus on Myzus persicae (Aphididae) and more recently  the planthopper Pentastiridius leporinus (Hemiptera: Cixiidae) that together pose a combined bacterial and viral infection threat to sugar beet and potatoes. Both species have the potential to reach epidemic levels; this will be researched in the new ‘E-Prep’ project funded by UKRI.

The potential for disease transmission is an important theme in James’ research. A fundamental understanding of the movement of insect vectors is lacking but needed to understand how landscapes should be structured to mitigate impacts. Herein, the biology of aphid flight is imperative to understand disease transmission risk. Aphid flight and migration are major themes in James’ research, complementing his collaborative forecasting and modelling research with Rothamsted, the BBRO and others.

flowers

Figure showing a simplified roles of predators, parasitoids and fungal pathogens in controlling aphids. An original illustration by Lynda Castle for James Bell and later featuring in Bell et al. (2017) Chapter 13 ‘Aphid Population Dynamics’. CABI, London. p. 282.

James’ research in agricultural systems spans agricultural pests, beneficial insects and non-target insects providing a balanced insight into how terrestrial ecosystems should be managed in a sustainable world. For example, pest control delivers important ecosystem services to agriculture that in turn reduces the negative impacts on plant health. As farming moves towards a greener agriculture, there is a need to not only recognise the role of insects but also understand how they are interacting with the agricultural crop and non-crop environment.

Insect conservation

James trained as an ecologist and has worked in semi-natural woodland, grassland and sand dune environments where habitat conservation was his main focus. During his PhD James focussed on the restoration of limestone quarries to enable pioneer communities to establish. This early understanding now feeds into his entomology lectures and also his current research, principally his NERC funded project ‘Drivers and Repercussions of UK Insect Declines’, in collaboration with Leeds and Reading Universities, Rothamsted and UKCEH.  

James has recently collaborated with the RSPB, BTO and BCT to deliver a new understanding of swift, swallow and bat trends and their relationship with flying insect biomass.  James is an Associate Editor for the Wiley journal Insect Conservation & Diversity. 

Policy and KE

James regularly communicates his science to policy-makers, and a wide range of other audiences and stakeholders as well as the academic community. For example, James has recently given evidence to Parliamentary Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee and the Parliamentary Office of Science & Technology and given several keynote presentations to academic audiences.

Please get in touch if you want to know more.

School of Life Sciences,
Huxley Building,
Keele University,
Staffordshire,
ST5 5BG
Tel: +44 (0) 1782 734414