Karl von Frisch

From Freepedia

Karl Ritter von Frisch (1886-1982) was an Austrian ethologist who received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1973 with Nikolaas Tinbergen and Konrad Lorenz.

He studied zoology with Richard von Hertwig whom he later succeded as a professor of zoology at Munich, Germany. He studied the senses of bees, identified their mechanisms of communication and showed their sensitivity to ultraviolet and polarized light. In the center of his work were the study of the sensory perceptions of the honeybee and the way of the communication of these animals among themselves. He was one of the first who translated the meaning of the waggle dance. This theory was disputed by other scientists and only recently was definitively proved (see Nature magazine reference).

In 1973 he was awarded Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine for his achievements in comparative behavioral physiology and pioneering work in communication between insects.

See also

• List of Austrian Scientists
• List of Austrians

Notes

• Note regarding personal names: Ritter is a title, usually translated Knight, not a first or middle name.

External links and references

• Karl Von Frisch, Dancing Bees: An Account of the Life and Senses of the Honey Bee.
• Dance and communication of honeybees
• The flight paths of honeybees recruited by the waggle dance, Nature 435, May 2005, pp.205-207.
• Karl von Frisch, Decoding the Language of the Bee, Nobel Lecture, December 12, 1973