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  • Honeybees (partly marked) on the edge of a brood frame
Chair of Behavioral Physiology & Sociobiology

Scheiner, Ricarda

Prof. Dr. Ricarda Scheiner

Reserach group leader
Zoology II / Scheiner lab
Universität Würzburg
Biozentrum
Am Hubland
97074 Würzburg
Building: B1 (Biozentrum)
Room: D127
Link: Scheiner lab
Portrait of Prof. Dr. Ricarda Scheiner

I am interested in the molecular mechanisms underlying the control of behavior in honey bees. I am particularly keen to understand
a) how the complex division of labor is regulated in a honey bee colony
b) how honeybees perceive gustatory stimuli
c) why some bees learn better than others
d) the role of biogenic amines and their receptors in regulating behavior

Using up-to-date molecular biological methods (e.g. quantitative real-time PCR), biochemical methods (immunocytochemistry, Westernblots), analytics (HPLC), CRISPR/Cas9 and a variety of behavioral assays (sensory responsiveness, learning, video monitoring, motor activity, RFID) we investigate the functions of selected genes in behavior.

On top of this basic research I am interested in more applied aspects of honeybee biology:
e) methods to reduce the Varroa load of honeybee colonies
f) side effects of novel insecticides on honeybees and interaction of insecticides and fungicides
g) differences in honeybee species and subspecies
h) modelling the impact of climate and landscape factors for honeybee colony development

  • Opposing Actions of Octopamine and Tyramine on Honeybee Vision Schilcher, Felix; Thamm, Markus; Strube-Bloss, Martin; Scheiner, Ricarda in Biomolecules (2021). 11(9) 1374.
  • A Novel Thermal-Visual Place Learning Paradigm for Honeybees (Apis mellifera) Scheiner, Ricarda; Frantzmann, Felix; Jäger, Maria; Mitesser, Oliver; Helfrich-Förster, Charlotte; Pauls, Dennis in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience (2020). 14 56.
  • Chronic exposure to the pesticide flupyradifurone can lead to premature onset of foraging in honeybees (Apis mellifera) Hesselbach, Hannah; Seeger, Johannes; Schilcher, Felix; Ankenbrand, Markus; Scheiner, Ricarda in Journal of Applied Ecology (2020). 57 609–618.
  • Inter-individual variation in honey bee dance intensity correlates with expression of the foraging gene George, Ebi A.; Bröger, Ann-Kathrin; Thamm, Markus; Brockmann, Axel; Scheiner, Ricarda in Genes, Brain and Behavior (2020). 19 e12592.
  • Effects of the novel pesticide flupyradifurone (Sivanto) on honeybee taste and cognition Hesselbach, Hannah; Scheiner, Ricarda in Scientific Reports (2018). 8(1) 4954.

Researcher-ID: I-6355-2018