When Tarantula Venom Comes from a Misnamed Spider: The Importance of Taxonomic Accuracy in Theraphosid Toxinology

Posted by
  When Tarantula Venom Comes from a Misnamed Spider: The Importance of Taxonomic Accuracy in Theraphosid Toxinology I am very happy to share my most recent publication in Toxicon. This is a particularly meaningful publication for me because it brings together two areas that have become an important part of my work and personal interests: tarantulas and toxinology. At first glance, taxonomy and venom research may seem like two very different fields. In reality, they are closely connected. Before we can properly study the venom of a spider, we need to know which spider we are actually studying. Why the Name Matters A scientific name is much more than a label attached to an animal. It connects that animal to everything we report about it, including its biology, distribution, behavior, venom, toxins, and even its potential medical importance. When a tarantula is incorrectly identified, or when an outdated name continues to be used without considering changes in taxonomy, the problem ca...

Which web to invade? Argyrodine kleptoparasites differentiate amongst architecturally different host webs

Posted by

 


Which web to invade? Argyrodine kleptoparasites differentiate amongst architecturally different host webs

Abstract

Kleptoparasitism, the theft of resources from another organism, is a widespread foraging strategy amongst animals. Many Argyrodinae cobweb spiders (Theridiidae) are obligatory kleptoparasites that have abandoned web building, relying instead on webs of larger hosts (kleptotany). Theory predicts that kleptoparasites are not randomly distributed amongst host webs and prior studies indicate that web architecture (size and tenure) and prey availability impact kleptoparasite abundance and host choice. This study is the first to examine argyrodine biology in Madagascar and provides an insight into a multi-species endemic community of spider kleptoparasites and their in-situ distribution across contrasting host webs: Nephilingis (Nephilidae, large nocturnal orb weavers), Caripetella (Pisauridae, large nocturnal sheet web builders) and Anelosimus (Theridiidae, small cathemeral social spiders constructing 3D tangle webs). We found a striking diversity of nine kleptoparasite species in six genera that, remarkably, are not conspecific with the five species that were previously known from all of Madagascar. Kleptoparasite species composition and abundance varied across the three hosts: some appeared host-specific, while others are versatile. In general, argyrodine kleptoparasites evidently discriminate amongst hosts, but differ in the degree of host preference. At the community level, we speculate that species assembly into host webs involves a complex interplay between host preference and species competitive hierarchy. Future field research should investigate this system as a community of multiple interacting species to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the rules that may govern the assembly of diverse kleptoparasites into equally variable host webs.

Agnarsson I, Ramahefarison F-N, Matthíasdóttir H, Kudari L, Dagsson M, Baldursdóttir N, Bergsdóttir R, Halldórsdóttir R, Magnússon S, Björnsdóttir S, Gregorič M (2025) Which web to invade? Argyrodine kleptoparasites differentiate amongst architecturally different host webs. Biodiversity Data Journal 13: e172146. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.13.e172146