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 ...

On a new genus of the fossorial wolf spiders from Middle Asia (Araneae, Lycosidae)

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On a new genus of the fossorial wolf spiders from Middle Asia (Araneae, Lycosidae)

Abstract

A new genus, Desertosa gen. nov., is established to accommodate six Middle Asian species of burrowing wolf spiders, of which four are diagnosed and described as new: D. karamola sp. nov. (male, female, SE Kazakhstan), D. kuramin sp. nov. (female, SE Uzbekistan), D. ozernoyi sp. nov. (male, female, SE Kazakhstan), D. zyuzini sp. nov. (male, female, SE Kazakhstan). Two new combinations are proposed: Desertosa kuryk (Esyunin & Efimik, 2025), comb. nov. and D. uzbekistanica (Logunov, 2023), comb. nov.; both ex Lycosa Latreille, 1804. The localities of all Desertosa species are mapped, and an identification key is provided as well. A brief synopsis of the fauna and diversity of the fossorial Lycosidae of Middles Asia is given.

Logunov, D.V. & Nekhaeva, A.A. (2026) On a new genus of the fossorial wolf spiders from Middle Asia (Araneae, Lycosidae). Zootaxa, 5782 (2), 283–312. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5782.2.3