The neonicotinoid imidacloprid impairs the predatory performance and functional response of the jumping spider Helpis minitabunda (Araneae, Salticidae)

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  The neonicotinoid imidacloprid impairs the predatory performance and functional response of the jumping spider Helpis minitabunda (Araneae, Salticidae) Abstract The neonicotinoid imidacloprid can cause lethal and sublethal effects in non-target organisms, including impaired behavior, reduced fertility, disrupted locomotion, and reduced predatory performance in arthropods. Spiders are among the most abundant arthropod predators in terrestrial ecosystems, including agricultural ecosystems, yet the effects of neonicotinoids on the predatory function of jumping spiders remain poorly understood. The functional response of a predator describes how predation rates change with prey density and is key to understanding predator–prey dynamics. We tested whether acute exposure to a commercial formulation of imidacloprid at field-recommended concentrations alters the functional response of the Aussie bronze jumping spider, Helpis minitabunda (L. Koch, 1880). We compared the predation of treat...

First record of the spider genus Hellamalthonica Bosmans, 2023 (Araneae, Agelenidae) from Turkiye, with the description of a new species

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First record of the spider genus Hellamalthonica Bosmans, 2023 (Araneae, Agelenidae) from Turkiye, with the description of a new species

Background

The spider genus Hellamalthonica Bosmans, 2023 of the family Agelenidae currently contains five species and all species are known from Greece. This genus has not been recorded in Turkiye yet.

New information

A new species, Hellamalthonica kazdagensis sp. nov., is described (♂♀) from Mount Kaz Dağı, Balıkesir Province, Turkiye. This is also the first report of Hellamalthonica in Turkiye. Morphological descriptions, photomicroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images of the new species, a key to all species of the genus and a distribution map of Hellamalthonica species are given.

Gündüz G, Kaya RS (2025) First record of the spider genus Hellamalthonica Bosmans, 2023 (Araneae, Agelenidae) from Turkiye, with the description of a new species. Biodiversity Data Journal 13: e157512. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.13.e157512