Research

Research Priorities: Bee research, social behaviour of honeybees, genetic characteristics of bees, complementary sex determination in bees

Robert E. Page is an American bee behavioural scientist and geneticist. His research into the evolution of the complex social structure of beehives is considered ground-breaking. He decoded the honey bee genome and was able to show that the division of labour and specialisation in honey bees are related to a genetically determined mechanism.

Robert Page is considered one of the world’s leading bee behavioural scientists and geneticists. In the 1990s, he and his team isolated and described the gene responsible for the complementary sex determination in bees. The publication of these results is still considered ground-breaking today. He also succeeded in decoding the entire honeybee genome.

Furthermore, he investigated how social structures develop within beehives and was able to show that there are three key factors which interact in this process: genetics, evolution, and behaviour. The genetic differences in the reactions of worker bees to their environment and their corresponding behaviour influence the coordination of activity within the beehive, e.g. searching for food or processing sensory impulses. Thus, Page made a significant contribution to decoding of the individual steps of the evolutionary development of bees’ work distribution. A more profound understanding of this process lays the groundwork for being able to understand the evolution of social behaviour in general.

The scientist is also interested in promoting inter- and transdisciplinary research and supports training and continuing education. At the Arizona School of Life Sciences, he founded a special institution for the study of honey bees.

Career

• since 2015 Professor Emeritus
• 2013-2015 Provost, Arizona State University, Phoenix, USA
• 2011-2013 Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Arizona State University, Phoenix, USA
• 2004 Founding Director, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Phoenix, USA
• 1999-2004 Professor, Chair of Entomology, University of California, Davis, USA
• 1986 Assistant Professor, Department of Entomology, Ohio State University, Columbus, USA
• 1980 PhD in Entomology, University of California, Davis, USA
• 1976 B.Sc. in Entomology and Chemistry, San José State University, San José, USA

Projects

• 1989-2015 Honeybee Breeding Programme (together with Harry H. Laidlaw Jr.), Honey Bee Research Facility, University of California, Davis, USA
• 2009-2010 Fellow, Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany

Honours and Memberships

• 2019 Distinguished Emeritus Award, University of California, Davis, USA
• 2018 James W. Creasman Award of Excellence, Arizona State University Alumni Association, Arizona State University, Phoenix, USA
• 2017-2018 Fellow, Carl Friedrich von Siemens Foundation, Munich, Germany
• since 2016 Member, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, USA
• since 2012 Member, Entomological Society of America, USA
• since 2009 Member, German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, Germany
• since 2006 Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, USA
• 2005 Listed as a Highly Cited Author, Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), USA
• 1999 Member, Brazilian Academy of Science, Brazil
• 1995 Humboldt Research Award, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Berlin, Germany
• 1991 Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), USA