# Jürgen Boeckh (1934–2023) and Vera Boeckh, née von Zwehl (1928–2022): pioneers of sensory physiology and neuroethology

## TL;DR

This paper honors Jürgen and Vera Boeckh, pioneers in insect sensory physiology and neuroethology, who made foundational contributions to understanding insect vision and olfaction.

## Contribution

The paper highlights the scientific legacy and personal journey of Jürgen and Vera Boeckh as pioneers in sensory physiology and neuroethology.

## Key findings

- Vera characterized the spectral sensitivity of bee photoreceptors, supporting behavioral studies on bee color vision.
- Jürgen advanced the understanding of insect antennal olfactory sensilla and sensory transduction in the brain's antennal lobe.
- Their work laid the groundwork for the field of insect neuroethology.

## Abstract

Jürgen Boeckh, a respected pioneer of insect olfaction died shortly after his beloved wife Vera Boeckh, née von Zwehl, who pioneered insect vision. Both met in 1958, at the Zoological Institute in Munich. There, Jürgen worked in the group of his PhD advisor Dietrich Schneider, while Vera finished her PhD with Werner Jacobs before she joined the group of Hansjochem Autrum. There, Vera characterized the spectral sensitivity of bee photoreceptors, laying the physiological foundation of Karl von Frisch´s behavioral experiments with bee color vision. Meanwhile, Jürgen focused on the physiological characterization of insect antennal olfactory sensilla. In 1962 Vera and Jürgen married in Munich. Sadly, but characteristic of German woman at these times, Vera´s career ended after her marriage, while Jürgen moved with his mentor Schneider to the Max Planck Institute of Behavioral Physiology in Seewiesen near Munich, which became a famous cradle of insect neuroethology. Vera accompanied and supported her husband Jürgen´s career during his scientific Wanderschaft which ended in 1969, when Jürgen received a full professorship at the University of Regensburg. There, Jürgen became an accomplished German professor, focusing on insect olfaction from peripheral sensory transduction to information processing in the brain´s antennal lobe. After Jürgens retirement in 2000 they moved to Hopfen, Enzensberg near Füssen, where they enjoyed happy years together, before especially Vera´s health deteriorated. Both died shortly after one another during the Corona pandemic. We lost a remarkable couple of insect scientists that will be remembered as pioneers of sensory physiology and neuroethology.