Spider venom peptides Ht1a and Gg1a are toxic to honeybee parasite Varroa destructor by topical application

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  Spider venom peptides Ht1a and Gg1a are toxic to honeybee parasite Varroa destructor by topical application Abstract Global food supply strongly depends on honeybee pollination services, which are threatened by insecticides and pests such as parasitic Varroa destructor mites. Chemical varroacides/acaricides are hampered by resistance development, necessitating the development of sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives, with arthropod venom peptides being considered promising sources of acaricidal toxins. With only a few acaricidal venom peptides being reported, we performed a systematic topical screening of 50 arthropod venoms against V. destructor , with 78% of the venoms causing 100% mortality after 24 h. Deconvolution of the venoms from the Tasmanian cave spider Hickmania troglodytes and the Giant Japanese funnel-web spider Gigathele gigas led to identification of the varroacidal peptides Ht1a and Gg1a. Topical application of Ht1a and Gg1a reduced varroa mite ...

New records of Sarcophagidae and Phoridae (Insecta: Diptera) associated with scorpions in Panama (Arachnida: Scorpiones)

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New records of Sarcophagidae and Phoridae (Insecta: Diptera) associated with scorpions in Panama (Arachnida: Scorpiones)

Abstract
Very little is known about insect parasitoids or scavengers of scorpions. In this study we found three cases of endoparasitoidism by Sarcophagidae (Diptera) in three species of Tityus Koch: Lepidodexia sp. on Tityus festae Borelli and larvae of unidentified flesh flies on Tityus jaimei Miranda, Bermúdez, Flórez, Armas and Tityus cerroazul Lourenço. We recorded a case of scavenging by Puliciphora fenestrata Borgmeier on T. jaimei.

Miranda RJ, Cambra RA, De Armas LF, Moran CA, Brown B, Pape T. 2025. New records of Sarcophagidae and Phoridae (Insecta: Diptera) associated with scorpions in Panama (Arachnida: Scorpiones). ENTOMOTROPICA, 40: 34-42.