Efficacy of neem oil (Azadirachta indica) as an antiparasitic treatment for scorpions (Androctonus bicolor) and its impact on venom production

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  By Guy Haimovitch - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=630184 Efficacy of neem oil (Azadirachta indica) as an antiparasitic treatment for scorpions (Androctonus bicolor) and its impact on venom production Abstract Mite infestations are a recurrent welfare issue that significantly affect the health, venom production, and survival of scorpions, particularly under human care. Chemical acaricides such as permethrins and fipronil, widely used in veterinary medicine for mite and tick control, are contraindicated in scorpions. Since mites and scorpions both belong to the class Arachnida, even minimal exposure can result in severe toxicity or death. Neem oil ( Azadirachta indica ) has been widely recognized for its acaricidal, antibacterial, and antifungal properties. Its main compound, azadirachtin, interferes with mite development and reproduction, leading to reduced infestations and egg viability. This study evaluated the efficacy and safety of a 1...

New data on Indian nursery-web spiders (Araneae: Pisauridae)

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New data on Indian nursery-web spiders (Araneae: Pisauridae)

Abstract

Updated data on Indian nursery-web spiders of the genera Dendrolycosa Doleschall, 1859, Euprosthenops Pocock, 1897, Hygropoda Thorell, 1895a, Perenethis L. Koch, 1878, and Polyboea Thorell, 1895b are presented here. The following new synonymy is recognised: Dendrolycosa bobbiliensis (Reddy & Patel, 1993) syn. nov. is synonymised with D. robusta (Thorell, 1895). The validity of Dendrolycosa gitae (Tikader, 1970), D. sahyadriensis Sudhin, Sen & Jäger, 2023, and D. stauntoni Pocock, 1900 is discussed. The possible synonymy of Dendrolycosa sahyadriensis with D. gitae, as well as that of D. gitae with D. spadicaria (Simon, 1897a), and Polyboea zonaformis (Wang, 1993) with P. vulpina Thorell, 1895 are discussed. Euprosthenops ellioti (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1877) is redescribed and illustrated based on its type material, and the vulva of the genus is illustrated for the first time. A lectotype is designated for Hygropoda gracilis (Thorell, 1891), which is redescribed based on the type and freshly collected material. A new species, Hygropoda kannimara Sankaran sp. nov. is described and illustrated based on male and female specimens collected from the southern Indian state of Kerala. Redescriptions of Perenethis sindica (Simon, 1897) and P. vulpina based on freshly collected material are provided, and doubt is cast on the possible synonymy of the former species with P. venusta L. Koch, 1878. Finally, discusion about the type locality of Perenethis dentifasciata (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1885) is presented.

Sankaran, P.M., Abraham, A., Williams, S.H. & Asima, A. (2026) New data on Indian nursery-web spiders (Araneae: Pisauridae). Zootaxa, 5757 (1), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5757.1.1