The aim of this project was to obtain a baseline understanding and investigate the concentration of mercury (Hg) in the tissue of terrestrial arthropods. The 4-month sampling campaign took place around Monterey Bay, California. Total mercury (HgT) concentrations (x ± SD, dry weight) for the captured specimens ranged from 22 to 188 ng g(-1) in the Jerusalem crickets (Orthoptera: Stenopelmatidae)...

The present study mainly focused on the diversity of spider fauna in agro-ecosystem Mahabubnagar district during Kharif and Rabi seasons 2020-21. sampling was collected at monthly intervals by different methods (in situ counts, net sweeping, pitfall traps litter sampling). A total 30 species were identified which, Araneidae family is represented 8 belonging to four genera followed Salticidae (5...

A simple version of the immunocompetence handicap hypothesizes that through condition-dependence, the size of the sexual trait may be positively related to immune function at the population level. In the present study, we investigated the relationship between sexual advertisement and immune function in a natural population of male wolf spiders, Hygrolycosa rubrofasciata (Araneae: Lycosidae). Ma...

Species of the Australian wolf spider genus Venator are reviewed including the type species, V. spenceri Hogg, 1900, from south-eastern Australia and V. immansuetus (Simon, 1909) comb. nov., a common species in south-west Western Australia. Venator marginatus Hogg, 1900 is only known from two female specimens and the genital morphology of this species does not conform to the diagnosis of genus ...

The wolf spider Lycosa tarantula homes using path integration. The angular component of the displacement is measured using a polarized-light compass associated with the functioning of the anterior median eyes. However, how L. tarantula estimates the linear component of the displacement was not known prior to this investigation. The ability of L. tarantula to gauge the distance walked after bein...

In this study we describe a distinctive pigment ring that appears in spider eyes after ecdysis and successively decreases in size in the days thereafter. Although pigment stops in spider eyes are well known, size variability is, to our knowledge, reported here for the first time. Representative species from three families (Ctenidae, Sparassidae and Lycosidae) are investigated and, for one of th...