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...

The validity of Ancylometes birabeni (Carcavallo & Martínez, 1961) (Araneae: Ancylometidae)

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The validity of Ancylometes birabeni (Carcavallo & Martínez, 1961) (Araneae: Ancylometidae)

Abstract
Carcavallo & Martínez (1960; 1961) described four new species and proposed a new genus of Ctenidae Keyserling, 1877 from Argentina. Of these, Corinoctenus anomalosto mus Carcavallo & Martínez, 1961 and Corinoctenus green wayi Carcavallo & Martínez, 1960 were synonymized first with Ancylometes bogotensis (Keyserling, 1877) by Scia pelli & Gerschman (1970) and later removed and placed as junior synonyms of Ancylometes concolor (Perty, 1833) by Höfer & Brescovit (2000). The three remaining valid names are the genus Montescueia Carcavallo & Martínez, 1961 and its type species Montescueia leitaoi Carcavallo & Martínez, 1961, described based on a male from Salta prov ince in north-west Argentina, and Ancylometes birabeni Carcavallo & Martínez, 1961 described based on a female from Corrientes, north-east Argentina. Until recently, Ancy lometes was contained in the family Ctenidae Keyserling, 1877 but was transferred to the new family Ancylometidae Hazzi, Wood & Hormiga, 2025 by those authors. The trans fer of Ancylometes s.s. was well supported. In this work, we discuss the identity of A. birabeni, which possesses a cribellum and calamistrum and is unequivocally a ctenid of the subfamily Acanthocteninae.

Acknowledgement: I’d like to sincerely thank Danniella Sherwood for kindly sharing this manuscript with me through ResearchGate.

Sherwood, Danniella & Piacentini, Luis. (2025). The validity of Ancylometes birabeni (Carcavallo & Martínez, 1961) (Araneae: Ancylometidae). Arachnology. 20. 279-280.