Sex Role–Dependent Behavioral and Architectural Divergence in a Jumping Spider

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  Sex Role–Dependent Behavioral and Architectural Divergence in a Jumping Spider ABSTRACT Sex differences in behavior and functional traits are often attributed to differences in mating effort intensity, but the role of sex-specific parental demands remains poorly understood. Using the jumping spider Toxeus maxillosus —where males engage in mate searching and courtship without providing parental care, while females provide extended maternal care from egg attendance to offspring maturity (around 3 months)—we conducted an exploratory investigation into whether these distinct selective pressures led to divergence in spatial behaviors and nest architecture. Results revealed that males and females showed equivalent accuracy, latency, and learning-related performance in both a route-planning test under water stress and a color-pattern associative memory task. In contrast, during nest-construction assays, females built complex, multi-entrance structures that closely matched the container'...

First record of Latrodectus hesperus Chamberlin & Ivie, 1935, Western Black Widow (Araneae, Theridiidae), in Slovakia

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First record of Latrodectus hesperus Chamberlin & Ivie, 1935, Western Black Widow (Araneae, Theridiidae), in Slovakia

Abstract

An alien spider species, Latrodectus hesperus Chamberlin & Ivie, 1935, is reported from Slovakia for the first time. The spider was accidentally transported to northern Slovakia with goods, and it was found in synanthropic habitat. This record confirms the route through which spiders of the genus Latrodectus are imported into Europe. Characteristic features, along with photographs of the habitus and copulatory organs, are presented.

Purgat P, Švecová L (2025) First record of Latrodectus hesperus Chamberlin & Ivie, 1935, Western Black Widow (Araneae, Theridiidae), in Slovakia. Check List 21(1): 107-115. https://doi.org/10.15560/21.1.107