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

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  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 ...

Systematic placement of the enigmatic genus Timesius Simon, 1879 (Opiliones, Laniatores, Nomoclastidae), with description of a new species from the Colombian Andes

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Systematic placement of the enigmatic genus Timesius Simon, 1879 (Opiliones, Laniatores, Nomoclastidae), with description of a new species from the Colombian Andes

Abstract 

The enigmatic monotypic genus Timesius Simon, 1879, hitherto assigned to Stygnidae Simon, 1879, is redescribed and its phylogenetic position inferred upon morphological and molecular evidence, resulting in its reallocation to the family Nomoclastidae Roewer, 1943. The type material of Timesius vesicularis (Gervais, 1844), long presumed lost, was rediscovered, and is hereby redescribed and illustrated. Also, a new species, Timesius paramuno sp. nov., is described based on specimens collected in the Páramo ecosystem in the Central Cordillera, Colombia. Timesius vesicularis can be readily distinguished by having two long spines on area III of the dorsal scutum (two short tubercles in T. paramuno sp. nov.) and small whitish-yellow granules on the ocularium and dorsal scutum (vestigial whitish-yellow granules in T. paramuno). 

Damron, Brittany & Moreno-González, Jairo A. & pinto da rocha, Ricardo. (2025). Systematic placement of the enigmatic genus Timesius Simon, 1879 (Opiliones, Laniatores, Nomoclastidae), with description of a new species from the Colombian Andes. 
Zootaxa. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub: F6B8CFA9-BFD7-4DCF-B198-2FC3378FB637