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...

Running crab spiders (Araneae: Philodromidae) from Colombia: new species and records

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Running crab spiders (Araneae: Philodromidae) from Colombia: new species and records

Abstract
We present new records and species of running crab spiders (family Philodromidae) from Colombia representing four genera: Apollophanes O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1898, Gephyrellula Strand, 1932, Petrichus Simon, 1886, and Tibelloides Mello-Leitão, 1939. The genus Gephyrellula is recorded based on the newly described G. lavidabonita sp. nov., known from females from the department of Magdalena, constituting the northernmost known locality for the genus, at Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. This new species can be differentiated from the (previously monotypic) type species G. violacea (Mello-Leitão, 1918), known from southeastern region of Brazil, by the longer than wide epiginal plates (wider than long in G. violacea), with narrower and shorter ducts of the glandular heads (thicker and longer in G. violacea), and by their more posteriorly placed fertilization ducts. The genus Apollophanes is here firstly recorded from males and females of A. punctipes (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1891) from the Atlántico, Magdalena, Cesar, Cundinamarca, and Boyacá departments. Tibelloides is recorded from males and females of T. bryantae (Gertsch, 1933), from the departments of Magdalena and Meta, also representing northernmost known localities for the genus. Finally, new faunistic and taxonomic data is presented for Petrichus. Our examination of the holotype of Thanatus granadensis Keyserling, 1880 demonstrates this species is conspecific with more recently collected and better-preserved specimens of Petrichus griseus Berland, 1913, from the department of Santander. Therefore, we propose the new combination Petrichus granadensis comb. nov., regard P. griseus as its junior synonym syn. nov., and update knowledge of its distribution. 


GALVIS,W., CASAS,C.M., VILLAREAL,E. & SHERWOOD, D. (2024) Running crab spiders (Araneae: Philodromidae) from Colombia: new species and records Arachnology 19(8): 1127–1138