Posts

New Publication: Hybridisation in the Tarantula Hobby

  New Publication: Hybridisation in the Tarantula Hobby I am pleased to share the publication of my latest paper, “Hybridisation in the Tarantula Hobby: Ethical Boundaries and Biological Consequences,” in the Journal of the British Tarantula Society , Volume 41, No. 1, September 2026. The paper addresses an issue that deserves serious consideration within the tarantula community: hybridisation and its potential long-term effects on the integrity of captive lineages. More Than a Breeding Decision The tarantula hobby has changed considerably over the past several decades. What was once a relatively small community has grown into an international network of keepers, breeders, vendors, researchers, and societies. Captive breeding has contributed enormously to that growth, improving husbandry knowledge and increasing the availability of captive-bred animals. With that success comes responsibility for the lineages we maintain. Hybridisation may seem like an isolated breeding experiment,...

Sex- and development-specific transcriptomic profiling of venom and silk genes in the wolf spider Pardosa astrigera provides insights into ecological adaptation and predatory strategies

Cloning and functional analysis of vitellogenin receptor gene PastVgR1 regulates reproduction in Pardosa astrigera (Araneae: Lycosidae): a potential target for mass rearing of predatory spiders in pest management

Egg-sac-brooding wolf spiders show flexible hatchling emergence and context-dependent escape performance

RNAi-based functional analysis of a theta-class glutathione S-transferase implicated in deltamethrin detoxification in Pardosa astrigera (Araneae: Lycosidae)

Functional Study of Opsin Genes in Pardosa astrigera (Araneae: Lycosidae)

Enrichment of Rearing Conditions of the Spider Pardosa astrigera (Araneae: Lycosidae)

The Potential Implications of Sex-Specific Differences in the Intestinal Bacteria of the Overwintering Wolf Spider Pardosa astrigera (Araneae: Lycosidae)

Population genetic structure and demographic history of the East Asian wolf spider Pardosa astrigera