Person
Bellas, Thomas Edward (Tom) (1937 - 2021)
- Born
- 16 February 1937
Northam, Western Australia, Australia - Died
- 9 April 2021
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia - Occupation
- Entomologist and Organic chemist
Summary
Tom Bellas was an entomologist whose main interest was in chemical communication systems in a wide range of insects. He always referred to himself as an organic chemist (the field in which he took his PhD), and applied his knowledge of this field to his entomology. After several years working in the U.S.A. mainly on the western pine beetle, he returned to Australia to join the CSIRO Division of Entomology. He collaborated widely with Divisional experts in the behaviour, neurophysiology, ecology and taxonomy of insects. For many years he was a key member of the team researching semiochemicals where his experience was important in understanding the composition of volatile compounds produced by insects, and their role in host plant location, aggregation, reproduction, and defence. Among his main research subjects were pest species in the orders Lepidoptera and Diptera. His key publications included a bibliography on insects as a source of allergens, and global reviews (with Brian Fletcher) of pheromones in insects other than Lepidoptera and Diptera.
Details
Editor: We have a file, dated 2001-07-27, being a list of scientific publications for Tom Bellas 1963 - 2001, courtesy of the family.
Chronology
- 1968 - 1970
- Career position - Research scientist, Stanford Research Institute, California, U.S.A.
- 1970 - 2002?
- Career position - Research scientist, CSIRO Division of Entomology
Related entries
Colleague
Published resources
Books
- Bellas, T. E., Insects as a cause of inhalant allergies: a bibliography (Canberra: CSIRO, 1981), 64 pp. Details
Book Sections
- Fletcher, B. S.; and Bellas, T. E., 'Pheromones of Hemiptera, Blattodea, Orthoptera, Mecoptera, other insects, and Acari' in CRC handbook of natural pesticides, Morgan, E. D.; and Mandava, N. B., eds, vol. 4B (Boca Raton, Florida, U.S.A.: CRC Press, 1988), pp. 207-71. Details
- Fletcher, B. S.; and Bellas, T. E., 'Pheromones of Diptera' in CRC handbook of natural pesticides, Morgan, E. D.; and Mandava, N. B., eds, vol. 4B (Boca Raton, Florida, USA: CRC Press, 1988), pp. 1-57. Details
Journal Articles
- Rothschild, George, 'Tom Bellas 16 February 1937 - 9 April 2021', Myrmecia, 57 (3) (2021), 14-8. Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 22 February 2022, Last modified: 31 May 2024