A Remarkable Discovery: Exploring a Rare Eresus and Spider Wasp Interaction

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  Photo Credit: © Antonino Rametta . All photographs are used with permission. No part of these images may be reproduced, distributed, or used in any form without the prior written permission of the photographer. A Remarkable Discovery: Exploring a Rare Eresus and Spider Wasp Interaction One of the most rewarding aspects of maintaining Arácnido Taxonomy is hearing from naturalists and photographers around the world who take the time to share their discoveries. Every so often, an email arrives that immediately captures your attention. Not because it claims to rewrite what we know about biodiversity, but because it documents something that very few people have the opportunity to witness. Recently, I was contacted by a naturalist in Sicily who shared a series of exceptionally high-quality photographs of a female ladybird spider ( Eresus ) during what appeared to be an interaction with a spider wasp. Along with the images came a simple question: "Could this be scientifically import...

Dolomedes fishing spider biology: gaps and opportunities for future research

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Dolomedes fishing spider biology: gaps and opportunities for future research

Dolomedes may easily be considered to be among the most charismatic spider taxa. Known colloquially as fishing or raft spiders, this clade of dolomedid cursorial hunters is speciose with about 100 valid species names. Most Dolomedes are large spiders that inhabit water bodies across all continents except Antarctica and, interestingly, South America. Dolomedes have captured the attention of researchers and the public alike for their ability to walk on and submerge under water, fish for prey (including small vertebrates), and for their often-bizarre mating behavior that includes examples of male spontaneous death and sexual cannibalism. In this review, we critically evaluate what is known of Dolomedes biology, focusing on their systematics and morphology, ecology, behavior, and conservation. Given their close association with water, Dolomedes may be particularly vulnerable to the impacts of anthropogenic change and provide an important group of indicator species for understanding the effect of pollution, habitat loss and climate change. We outline a roadmap for future studies that, in our view, will consolidate Dolomedes as an ideal model lineage among spiders for addressing a vast array of questions across multiple fields of biology.

Yu, K., Roithmair, Z., Kurovski, J., Connolly, S. J., Vink, C. J., Johnson, J. C., Kuntner, M., Hebets, E. A., & Painting, C. J. (2024). Dolomedes fishing spider biology: Gaps and opportunities for future research. Frontiers in Arachnid Science, 3, 1501653. https://doi.org/10.3389/frchs.2024.1501653