Richard OdemerJulius Kühn-Institut · Institute for Bee Protection
Richard Odemer
Dr. sc. agr.
Interested in honey bee health and ecotoxicology of plant protection products.
About
33
Publications
16,999
Reads
How we measure 'reads'
A 'read' is counted each time someone views a publication summary (such as the title, abstract, and list of authors), clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the full-text. Learn more
350
Citations
Citations since 2017
Introduction
Richard currently works at the Institute for Bee Protection and does research in terrestrial ecotoxicology with a focus on honeybee health. He is coordinator of the VIBee project (vibee-project.net) and successfully co-launched the NutriBee project. He holds a PhD in Agricultural Sciences from the University of Hohenheim, is a passionate beekeeper with more than 13 years of experience, and has worked for two major CROs as a study director in his previous career.
Additional affiliations
October 2017 - July 2019
July 2016 - September 2017
Eurofins Agroscience Services
Position
- Study Director
March 2014 - June 2016
Education
October 2004 - February 2009
Publications
Publications (33)
The ongoing debate about glyphosate-based herbicides (GBH) and their implications for beneficial arthropods gives rise to controversy. This research was carried out to cover possible sublethal GBH effects on the brood and colony development, adult survival, and overwintering success of honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) under field conditions. Residues...
For nearly 100 years, electronic bee counters have been developed using various technologies to track the foraging activity of mostly honey bee colonies. These counters should enable remote monitoring of the hives without disturbing natural flight behaviour while generating precise scientific data. However, there are few counters on the market that...
Automated bee counters advanced over the last hundred years and became increasingly diverse. However, to date, there is no method for standardized validation of counting accuracy and thus no reliable data on daily bee losses, or background mortality in colonies. However, such data are in urgent need by regulators to establish future guidelines for...
Since the EU banned the three neonicotinoid insecticides imidacloprid, clothianidin (CLO) and thiamethoxam (TMX) in 2018, they can still be used if an EU Member State issues an emergency approval. Such an approval went into effect in 2021 for TMX‐coated sugar beet seeds in Germany. Usually, this crop is harvested before flowering without exposing n...
Varroa mites are highly attracted to drone brood of honey bees (Apis mellifera), as it increases their chance of successful reproduction. Therefore, drone brood removal with trap frames is common practice among beekeepers in Europe and part of sustainable varroa control. However, it is considered labour-intensive, and there are doubts about the eff...
As part of the agricultural landscape, non-target organisms, such as bees, may be exposed to a cocktail of agrochemicals including insecticides and spray adjuvants like organosilicone surfactants (OSS). While the risks of insecticides are evaluated extensively in their approval process, in most parts of the world however,
authorization of adjuvants...
Pollen is known to be the only source of proteins and fats for honey bees. Therefore, it is an important component of nutrition, essential for brood care and a good indicator for the availability of resources in a landscape. It is also known that a diverse diet is beneficial for bee health, also in relation to winter losses. In this work, an app is...
The BEEHAVE model simulates the population dynamics and foraging activity of a single honey bee colony (Apis mellifera) in great detail. Although it still makes numerous simplifying assumptions, it appears to capture a wide range of empirical observations. It could, therefore, in principle, also be used as a tool in beekeeper education, as it allow...
Currently, more than 360 spray adjuvants are registered in Germany (September 2021). Unlike plant protection products (PPPs), adjuvants are not subjected to regulatory risk assessment. In practice, numerous combinations of PPPs and adjuvants are therefore possible. Thus, tank mixtures containing insecticides that are classified as non-hazardous to...
Currently, more than 350 spray adjuvants are registered in Germany (January 2021). Unlike plant protection products (PPPs), adjuvants are not subjected to regulatory risk assessment. In practice, numerous combinations of PPPs and adjuvants are therefore possible. Thus, tank mixtures containing insecticides that are classi ed as nonhazardous to bees...
For nearly 100 years, electronic bee counters have been developed using various technologies to track the foraging activity of mostly honey bee colonies. These counters should enable remote monitoring of the hives without disturbing natural flight behavior while generating precise scientific data. Today, however, there are not many counters on the...
The ongoing debate about glyphosate-based herbicides (GBH) and their implications for beneficial arthropods give rise to controversy. This research was carried out to cover possible sublethal GBH effects on brood and colony development, adult survival, and overwintering success of honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) under field conditions. Residues in b...
In this work, a functional prototype of the BeeCheck counting device was evaluated for its accuracy to validate its suitability for scientific purposes. Two different approaches were applied: (i) we manually compared electronic data of the counting device by video recordings of entry and exit events, and (ii) by using the so-called "robber's test"...
In the last decade, the use of neonicotinoid insecticides increased significantly in the agricultural landscape and they are meanwhile considered a risk to honey bees. Besides the exposure to pesticides, colonies are treated frequently with various acaricides that beekeepers are forced to use against the parasitic mite Varroa destructor. Here we ha...
Varroa tolerance as a consequence of host immunity may contribute substantially to reduce worldwide colony declines. Therefore, special breeding programs were established and varroa surviving populations
investigated to understand mechanisms behind this adaptation. The aim of this study was to investigate the reproductive capacity in the three most...
Varroa tolerance as a consequence of host immunity may contribute substantially to reduce worldwide colony declines. Therefore, special breeding programs were established and varroa surviving populations investigated to understand mechanisms behind this adaptation. Here we studied the reproductive capacity in the three most common subspecies of the...
Mobile phones can be found almost everywhere across the globe, upholding a direct point-to-point connection between the device and the broadcast tower. The emission of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) puts the surrounding environment inevitably into contact with this radiation. We have therefore exposed honey bee queen larvae to the r...
Mobile phones can be found almost everywhere across the globe, upholding a direct point-to-point connection between the device and the broadcast tower. The emission of radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMF) puts the surrounding environment inevitably into contact with this pollutant. We have therefore exposed honey bee queen larvae to th...
With the currently updated risk assessment of three neonicotinoid pesticides, the European Food Safety Authority has confirmed that different applications of these substances represent a risk to wild and managed bees and their use was therefore severely restricted. However, to close further gaps in knowledge, this experiment covers exposure of hone...
Neonicotinoids alone or in combination with pathogens are considered to be involved in the worldwide weakening of honey bees. We here present a new approach for testing sublethal and/or synergistic effects in free flying colonies. In our experiment individually marked honey bees were kept in free flying mini-hives and chronically exposed to subleth...
In the last decade, the use of neonicotinoid insecticides increased significantly in the agricultural landscape and they are meanwhile considered a risk to honey bees. Besides the exposure to pesticides, colonies are treated frequently with various acaricides that beekeepers are forced to use against the parasitic mite Varroa destructor. Here we ha...
During the last decade the increasing number of honey bee colony losses has become a major concern of beekeepers and scientists world wide. Extensive research and cooperation projects have been established to unravel this phenomenon. Among parasites, pathogens and environmental factors, the use of agrochemicals, most notably the class of neonicotin...
Interactions between pesticides and parasites are believed to be responsible for increased mortality of honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies in the northern hemisphere. Previous efforts have employed experimental approaches using small groups under laboratory conditions to investigate influence of these stressors on honey bee physiology and behaviou...
The cuticle is a versatile coat allowing insects to survive in a variety of ecological situations. The polysaccharide chitin is a major cuticle component defining cuticle function. The key players of chitin synthesis and organisation, including chitin synthase-1 (CS-1), the chitin deacetylases vermiform (Verm) and serpentine (Serp), the extracellul...
Back in 1900 already, the Mikrosporidium Nosema apis was described in Apis mellifera. Thereby the Nosemosis remains without symptoms in the beehive to a certain degree. Studies indicate that infected bees have a shortened life span, due to a series of changes in physiological parameters. The consequence of these changes are diarrheal symptoms and t...
The reproductive cycle of the parasitic mite Varroa destructor is closely linked to the development of the honey bee host larvae. Using a within colony approach we introduced phoretic Varroa females into brood cells of different age in order to analyze the capacity of certain stages of the honey bee larva to either activate or interrupt the reprodu...
Short summary of our two year Nosema monitoring in Germany.
Horizontal transmission rates of Paenibacillus larvae within and between colonies in relation to spore source or distance to infected colonies were determined. Bacterial spores found on adult bees represent a greater threat to larvae than spores found in honey. Furthermore, different methods for selecting disease tolerant (hygienic) stock were eval...
Wir haben zunächst mit gezielten Einsetzversuchen überprüft, in welchem Zeitraum nach Zellverdeckelung der Arbeiterinnen‐ und Drohnenbrut die Reproduktion der Varroa‐Milbe durch natürliche Wirtsfaktoren noch aktiviert werden kann. Danach wurde mit einem neuen in vivo‐Biotest der Effekt spezifischer Larvenextrakte auf die Aktivierung der Varroa‐Ooge...
Die Bienenmilbe Varroa destructor wird weltweit als Hauptursache für periodisch auftretende hohe Völkerverluste angesehen. Dies ist nicht nur ein Problem für die Imkerei, sondern auch eine ökonomische und ökologische Bedrohung für die Kulturlandschaft, da die Bestäubung vieler Wild- und Nutzpflanzen direkt von der Honigbiene abhängt.
Variance of the reproduction of the parasitic mite Varroa destructor and its significant for host resistance at the individual level
Questions
Questions (3)
I was recently invited to review a paper for a journal (Taylor & Francis, IF 1.6), authored by three scientists from Egypt. As I red through the discussion section of the manuscript, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Two complete paragraphs from one of my pre-prints published in bioarxiv were 1:1 copy and pasted. I strongly recommended rejecting this paper and any future submissions from the authors.
So far, I did not even get a reply from the handling editor (this was 2 months ago).
Have you made similar experiences and what would you do in my stead with the journal editor? Should I demand a comment on that case? Usually the editor should check a manuscript for plagiarism before sending it out for peer review, shouldn't he/she?
I received an email from Nova press, NY with a request to provide research or review chapter(s) for a book cooperation within the scope of my research interests. I would be interested, if you have i) experience with this kind of publication and ii) where are the benefits in terms of dissemination and/or citations etc.?
As books usually are not made open access, I do only see a benefit for the publisher as they earn money with this. The authors are not paid for their work and have no share on the revenue... so why should I cooperate? Prestige??
Many thanks for your input,
Richard
