First record of Thaumasia Perty, 1833 nursery web spider (Araneae: Pisauridae) preying upon Polistes canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in the Neotropical region

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  First record of Thaumasia Perty, 1833 nursery web spider (Araneae: Pisauridae) preying upon Polistes canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in the Neotropical region Abstract Thaumasia Perty, 1833 are opportunistic spiders that inhabit the Neotropical region. This study reports a spider of the genus Thaumasia preying upon Polistes canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) in semiarid region of Brazil. A spider of the genus Thaumasia was observed moving rapidly from the fountain's water surface to capture an individual of P. canadensis . After successfully capturing the wasp, Thaumasia sp. was observed partially perched on the wall of the fountain, with the prey still on the water surface and trapped by its chelicerae. The pedipalps and chelicerae of Thaumasia sp. manipulated the head of P. canadensis , which stopped moving shortly after being captured, probably because of the action of the spider's venom. The study records a wasp in the diet of Thaumasia based on the ca...

Antivenom Choice in the Management of Snake Envenomation

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Antivenom Choice in the Management of Snake Envenomation

For the first time, clinicians now have a choice between two antivenoms when treating all North American pit vipers, including rattlesnakes, copperheads and cottonmouths. This convenience of choice has brought with it the natural question, and subsequent debate, on which antivenom is superior.

Spyres, M.B., Ruha, AM. Antivenom Choice in the Management of Snake Envenomation. J. Med. Toxicol. 21, 375–376 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13181-025-01100-w