New Publication: Hybridisation in the Tarantula Hobby

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  New Publication: Hybridisation in the Tarantula Hobby I am pleased to share the publication of my latest paper, “Hybridisation in the Tarantula Hobby: Ethical Boundaries and Biological Consequences,” in the Journal of the British Tarantula Society , Volume 41, No. 1, September 2026. The paper addresses an issue that deserves serious consideration within the tarantula community: hybridisation and its potential long-term effects on the integrity of captive lineages. More Than a Breeding Decision The tarantula hobby has changed considerably over the past several decades. What was once a relatively small community has grown into an international network of keepers, breeders, vendors, researchers, and societies. Captive breeding has contributed enormously to that growth, improving husbandry knowledge and increasing the availability of captive-bred animals. With that success comes responsibility for the lineages we maintain. Hybridisation may seem like an isolated breeding experiment,...

Evolution of nesting behaviour based on molecular phylogenetics and its implication in communal nesting in spider wasps (Hymenoptera, Pompilidae)

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Evolution of nesting behaviour based on molecular phylogenetics and its implication in communal nesting in spider wasps (Hymenoptera, Pompilidae)

ABSTRACT

A molecular phylogeny of Ageniellini (Pompilidae: Pepsinae) was constructed from Bayesian and maximum likelihood analyses of ultraconserved elements (UCEs), and ancestral states of nesting and reproductive behaviour were reconstructed in the phylogeny. From these analyses, the evolution of nest construction behaviour is inferred in this tribe. Aerial mud nest building behaviour evolved from subterranean nesting behaviour in an ancestor of the subtribe Auplopodina. The results are compared with those of previous studies. The evolution of primitive sociality in Pompilidae is discussed, with special reference to factors important in promoting the evolution of communal behaviour.

Shimizu, A., Sadler-Pitts, E., Yoshimura, J., Kurczewski, F. E., & Pitts, J. P. (2025). Evolution of nesting behaviour based on molecular phylogenetics and its implication in communal nesting in spider wasps (Hymenoptera, Pompilidae). Journal of Natural History, 59(33–36), 2217–2234. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2025.2535446