First record of Megaselia abdita (Schmitz, 1959) (Diptera: Phoridae) infestation in captive tarantulas (Araneae: Theraphosidae

Posted by
  First record of Megaselia abdita (Schmitz, 1959) (Diptera: Phoridae) infestation in captive tarantulas (Araneae: Theraphosidae Abstract Flies of the genus Megaselia Rondani, 1856 exhibit exceptional ecological flexibility, with certain species acting as facultative parasites. This study presents the first documented cases of Megaselia abdita (Schmitz, 1959) infesting captive tarantulas (Araneae: Theraphosidae, Ceratogyrus darlingi Pocock, 1897 and Psalmopoeus irminia Saager, 1994) in terrarium settings. Our observations demonstrate that M . abdita colonise artificial habitats and exploit spider hosts similarly to Megaselia scalaris . Citation: Szymański, D.M., Szymański, D., Kłonowski, P. (2026). First record of Megaselia abdita (Schmitz, 1959) (Diptera: Phoridae) infestation in captive tarantulas (Araneae: Theraphosidae). Dipteron, 42, 25-29. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23137389

A web of canopy discoveries part I (Araneae: Araneidae). New astonishing species of orb-weaving spiders from Ecuador and the first country record of Pozonia Schenkel, 1953

Posted by

 


A web of canopy discoveries part I (Araneae: Araneidae). New astonishing species of orb-weaving spiders from Ecuador and the first country record of Pozonia Schenkel, 1953

Abstract

Two new species from the family Araneidae are described: a new species from the monotypic orb-weaving genus Spinepeira Levi, 1995, Spinepeira erwini sp. nov. (♀), and a new species of Scoloderus Simon, 1887, Scoloderus neilli sp. nov. (♀), are described from the Ecuadorian Amazon. Both species were collected with insecticidal canopy knockdown. Furthermore, herein, we present the first images of Spinepeira’s internal genitalia, and the first country record of Pozonia Schenkel, 1953 is reported with Pozonia bacillifera (Simon, 1897) collected in the canopy of Tiputini in Ecuador.

Díaz-Guevara, D.R. & Dupérré, N. (2025) A web of canopy discoveries part I (Araneae: Araneidae). New astonishing species of orb-weaving spiders from Ecuador and the first country record of Pozonia Schenkel, 1953. Zootaxa, 5660 (4), 587–595. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5660.4.9