A new Cataleptoneta species (Araneae, Leptonetidae) from sulfidic caves in Greece and Albania

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  A new Cataleptoneta species (Araneae, Leptonetidae) from sulfidic caves in Greece and Albania Abstract A new species of the genus Cataleptoneta Denis, 1955, Cataleptoneta sulfur sp. nov ., is described from caves in the Vromoner Canyon (Sarandaporo River Valley), on the Greek–Albanian border (northwestern Greece and southern Albania), on the basis of both sexes. Drawings, scanning electron micrographs, and digital images of diagnostic features are presented. Analysis of COI mitochondrial barcode sequences confirmed the species distinction from all the other sequences. Within the species two separate lineages, unique to each cave were found. The genus Cataleptoneta is not monophyletic as now circumscribed and confirmed also by the phylogenetic analysis of the sequences. Urák I, Ştefan A, Motoc RM, Brad T, Zsigmond A-R, Sarbu SM, Szűts T (2026) A new Cataleptoneta species (Araneae, Leptonetidae) from sulfidic caves in Greece and Albania. ZooKeys 1294: 89-107. https://doi.org/...

Parasitoidism of Aphonopelma hentzi (Girard, 1852) (Araneae: Theraphosidae) and first records of Pepsis mildei Stål, 1857 (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae) in Missouri, U.S.A.

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Parasitoidism of Aphonopelma hentzi (Girard, 1852) (Araneae: Theraphosidae) and first records of Pepsis mildei Stål, 1857 (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae) in Missouri, U.S.A.

The life history of wasps in the genus Pepsis Fabricius, 1804, colloquially known as ‘tarantula hawk-wasps’ or ‘tarantula hawks’, has been described by Williams (1956). The female wasp paralyzes her host, most often a mygalomorph spider, with a venomous sting and buries it in a burrow. Before leaving, the wasp lays an egg on the spider’s abdomen, which hatches into a larva that feeds on the tarantula and develops through multiple instars before pupating and then digging out of the chamber as an adult. While some tarantula hawks parasitize non-tarantula spider families of Mygalomorphae, many parasitize Theraphosidae (tarantulas) exclusively. These host capture events are well documented, but few Pepsis sightings have been documented at the northeasternmost distributional limit of Theraphosidae in North America, namely, the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi River in east-central Missouri. This paper describes an observation of a species of Pepsis attempting to capture a host tarantula in the region and documents contemporary captures of Pepsis mildei Stål, 1857 in Missouri, a new record for the state and likely the species observed in the wasp-tarantula interaction.

Becky Hansis-O'Neill, Ted C. MacRae "Parasitoidism of Aphonopelma hentzi (Girard, 1852) (Araneae: Theraphosidae) and first records of Pepsis mildei Stål, 1857 (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae) in Missouri, U.S.A.," The Pan-Pacific Entomologist, 101(4), 305-311, (31 December 2025)