Lotmaria passim: Ruth Lotmar, Bee researcher and Zoologist

Lotmaria passim: Ruth Lotmar, Bee Researcher and Zoologist

This short biography traces the career of Jewish bee researcher Ruth Lotmar (1910-1989) and shows how Nazi Germany changed her life and forced her into a new perspective.

In 1946 Ruth Lotmar described for the first time the pathogen of an important bee disease, which will later be named after her - lotmaria passim, making her unforgettable as a researcher.

Contents

Foreword

Introduction

1. Childhood and youth in Bern and Munich

2. Studies of zoology in Munich and perspectives in bee research with Karl von Frisch

3. Escape and exile in Switzerland

4. Bee research at the Department of Bee Diseases at the Agricultural Research Center Liebefeld

5. New perspectives: The change to Basel and Zurich

6. About „actants“ and Circulating references: The importance of Ruth Lotmar as a zoologist and bee researcher

References

Notes

Acknowledgments

Dear Dr. Fuchs,

I have finally downloaded and read your touching biography of Dr. Lotmar. I am not adept at the German references but nevertheless learned a lot from your book. Fascinating that she and her family had a tie to the Klee's, another genius family. Happily, the name 'Lotmaria' seems to have stuck and is getting used to help clarify honey bee maladies. Dr. Lotmar was truly ahead of her time and Ryan Schwarz was correct to push for her recognition.

All the best,

Jay

Jay Evans
Research Leader
USDA-ARS Bee Research Lab
Beltsville, MD 20705
USA