Spider venom peptides Ht1a and Gg1a are toxic to honeybee parasite Varroa destructor by topical application

Posted by
  Spider venom peptides Ht1a and Gg1a are toxic to honeybee parasite Varroa destructor by topical application Abstract Global food supply strongly depends on honeybee pollination services, which are threatened by insecticides and pests such as parasitic Varroa destructor mites. Chemical varroacides/acaricides are hampered by resistance development, necessitating the development of sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives, with arthropod venom peptides being considered promising sources of acaricidal toxins. With only a few acaricidal venom peptides being reported, we performed a systematic topical screening of 50 arthropod venoms against V. destructor , with 78% of the venoms causing 100% mortality after 24 h. Deconvolution of the venoms from the Tasmanian cave spider Hickmania troglodytes and the Giant Japanese funnel-web spider Gigathele gigas led to identification of the varroacidal peptides Ht1a and Gg1a. Topical application of Ht1a and Gg1a reduced varroa mite ...

Five new species of the genus Mallinella Strand, 1906 (Araneae: Zodariidae) from Sri Lanka

Posted by

 


Five new species of the genus Mallinella Strand, 1906 (Araneae: Zodariidae) from Sri Lanka

Abstract

Five new species of the ant-eating spider genus Mallinella from the natural forests of Sri Lanka are described and illustrated: Mallinella dhanahami sp. nov. (male, female), M. milkyway sp. nov. (male, female), M. moncheri sp. nov. (male, female), M. oreo sp. nov. (male, female), and M. truffles sp. nov. (male, female). A key to all the known Mallinella species from Sri Lanka is provided, and their current distribution in Sri Lanka is mapped.

Dayananda, N. & Benjamin, S. P. (2025). Five new species of the genus Mallinella Strand, 1906 (Araneae: Zodariidae) from Sri Lanka. Zootaxa 5570(1): 100-118. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5570.1.4