Hidden in the wrack: spider (Arachnida, Araneae) diversity and new records for Italy from Posidonia banquettes

Posted by
  Hidden in the wrack: spider (Arachnida, Araneae) diversity and new records for Italy from Posidonia banquettes ABSTRACT Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile beach wrack deposits (banquettes) are a characteristic coastal habitat of the Mediterranean Sea, yet their invertebrate communities remain poorly studied. Here we report the results of a survey from January to November 2024 of the spider fauna (Order Araneae) associated with Posidonia banquettes at Sant’Agostino beach (Civitavecchia, Latium, central Italy), using four complementary sampling methods (surface and underground pitfall traps, Berlese-Tullgren funnel extraction, and visual census). A total of 161 specimens were collected, with 17 species assigned to 11 families among adult individuals. The dominant families were Argyronetidae (39.4%), represented exclusively by Chaerea maritimus Simon, 1885, and Gnaphosidae (33.8%). Three species are recorded for the first time in Italy: Dysdera gamarrae Ferrández 1984, Gnaphosa jucu...

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

Posted by

 


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)