Max leads the Entomology team within the Tree Health group at Forest Research, overseeing a department of more than 30 staff. He provides strategic and operational leadership to ensure the delivery of high-impact science and evidence-based advice on tree health and biosecurity.
In his role, Max works closely with key stakeholders including Defra, the Forestry Commission, Scottish Forestry, and Natural Resources Wales. He plays a central role in shaping policy and coordinating national responses to the threat of invasive insect pests affecting UK trees. He also provides expert advisory and phytosanitary support to the wider Tree Health programme. Since 2020, Max has served as the scientific lead for the national Ips typographus eradication programme, guiding surveillance, containment, and eradication strategies for this high-priority pest.
His research focuses on:
- Developing integrated surveillance systems for invasive bark beetles including the use of Machine Learning and internet-of-things connected traps.
- Enhancing predictive models for pest establishment and spread.
- Refining eradication and monitoring protocols for Ips typographus.
- Applying molecular tools to advance forest entomology, including DNA barcoding and fungal metabarcoding.
Max joined Forest Research in 2017 following his work at Aberystwyth University, where he specialised in beetle ecology and genetics. His previous research included population genetics using microsatellites, species distribution modelling, and the use of molecular techniques to study insect-fungal interactions.
Max started as the Advisory Entomologist in Forest Research, dealing with over 2,400 TreeAlert enquiries and more than 350 quarantine interceptions, and delivering timely, evidence-based responses to protect UK forests. Max has played a pivotal role in outbreak management, serving as the lead scientific advisor for the Ips typographus eradication programme since 2020. His contributions have transformed national surveillance systems, introduced innovative monitoring technologies, and strengthened the UK’s preparedness for over 30 newly listed EU surveillance pests. His work has ensured compliance with plant health regulations and supported statutory survey programmes under UK and EU legislation. His cross-government collaboration was recognised with a Defra “Working Together” award in 2019.
Max Blake
BSc, PhD
Head of Tree Health - Entomology
Tree health
Forest Research
Alice Holt Lodge
Farnham
Surrey GU10 4LH
UK
Related Research
Research
Feasibility of reintroducing the forest caterpillar hunter for oak processionary moth control in the UK
This project scopes whether Calosoma sycophanta could be reintroduced as a biocontrol agent for OPM in the UK.
Status
current
Themes
Research
Forest Trapping Network (FTN)
The Forest Trapping Network (FTN) is a Great Britain-wide, broad-spectrum surveillance network which monitors for GB priority pest and EU quarantine organisms that other survey methods are unable to detect. The FTN is a rolling programme which will survey 4-6 woodlands within 100 forests for quarantine pests over five years.
Status
current
Themes
Related Publications
Publication
Review of the Forest Trapping Network Year One Rollout 2022
The Forest Trapping Network (FTN) forms a major part of GB’s Future Surveillance Plan (FSP). The FSP is a Great Britain-wide, broad-spectrum strategy to monitor quarantine and priority insect pests of forests included in the Plant Health (Phytosanitary Conditions) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020. The FSP outlines several survey techniques which target species on the […]
Published
Themes
Peer reviewed journal articles
Webb, C. R., Blake, M., & Gilligan, C. A. (2025). Phenology of the spruce bark beetle Ips typographus in the UK under past, current and future climate conditions. Plants, People, Planet, 7(1), 284-300.
Grégoire, J. C., Bonte, J., Bourke, A., Cocos, D., Fielding, N., Gohli, J., Inward, D., Klapwijk, M., Nikolov, C., Økland, B., Schroeder, M., Spaans, F., Vakula, J., Blake, M., De Andrade Moral, R., Destefanis, M., Griffin, C., Kunca, A., Murchie, A., Ryan, C., Smith, A., Evans, H. F. (2024). Territorial expansion of the European Ips species in the 20th century–a review. Entomologia Generalis, 44(6), 1359-1375.
Blake, M., Straw, N., Kendall, T., Whitham, T., Manea, I. A., Inward, D., Jones, B., Hazlitt, N., Ockenden, A., Deol, A., Brown, A., Ransom, E., Smith, L., & Facey, S. (2024). Recent outbreaks of the spruce bark beetle Ips typographus in the UK: Discovery, management, and implications. Trees, Forests and People, 16, 100508.
De Becquevort, S., Mckeown, N. J., Blake, M., & Shaw, P. W. (2024). Genetic variation reveals complex population structuring of Tomicus piniperda L.(Coleoptera, Scolytidae) in the UK: Implications for management of this important pest. Agricultural and Forest Entomology, 26(2), 249-261.
De Becquevort, S., Mckeown, N. J., Blake, M., & Shaw, P. W. (2023). Time series DNA barcoding provides insight into factors influencing wood-boring and bark-feeding insect communities in Scots pine, Sitka spruce, and Noble fir stands. Environmental Entomology, 52(5), 802-813.
Whitham, T., Bowdrey, J., & Blake, M. (2022) Dryomyia lichtensteinii (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), a holm oak gall midge new to the British Isles. British Journal of Entomological Natural History, 35.
Blake, M., Barclay, M. V., Mendel, H., & Morris, M. G. (2018). Bradybatus kellneri Bach, 1854 (Curculionidae) intercepted in Acer fruits-one to watch out for in Britain. The Coleopterist, 27, 91-94.
Blake, M., McKeown, N. J., Bushell, M. L., & Shaw, P. W. (2016). DNA extraction from spider webs. Conservation Genetics Resources, 8, 219-221.