Social and colonial spiders as model systems for host-symbiont interactions at different levels of organization

Posted by
  Social and colonial spiders as model systems for host-symbiont interactions at different levels of organization Symbiotic interactions, which run the gamut from microbial assemblages to synergistic or antagonistic interactions with macro-organisms, can shape ecological communities across levels of biological organization, from solitary hosts to large social groups. Web-building spiders have given rise to two types of social systems: outbred colonial orb weavers, which form web complexes with a modular structure and no cooperation, and inbred social species with tightly knit societies displaying cooperation within shared communal webs. We synthesize recent findings on the macro- or micro-organisms that colonize individual spiders or their living quarters in social and colonial species, highlighting their potential contributions to population stability and vulnerability as a function of the hosts’ social and breeding system. The tightly knit societies of social spiders facilitate m...

A comprehensive evaluation of the aculear sensory structures in scorpions (Arachnida: Scorpiones)

Posted by

 


A comprehensive evaluation of the aculear sensory structures in scorpions (Arachnida: Scorpiones)

Abstract
The scorpion telson is composed of a bulbous shaped base with two venom glands and an acu-leus with two venom channels that open to the exterior. The cuticular surface of the aculeus is covered with acu-lear peg sensilla and pore holes. These sensillar pegs are located on the aculeus surface of the telson and function as contact chemoreceptors. Data on aculear peg sensilla are presented from both parvorders, four families, 15 genera and 15 species of extant scorpions. Although all aculear peg sensilla have a similar structure in all species and sexes in terms of their general morphology, their location and frequency on the surface of the aculeus cuticle varies. The shape of these sensilla is similar in all species, and the distribution density on the cuticle surface differs from species to species. The single slit sensilla were observed at various intervals and numbers in the aculeus-bulb connection area of the telson. 

Erdek, Melek & Yağmur, Ersen. (2024). A comprehensive evaluation of the aculear sensory structures in scorpions (Arachnida: Scorpiones). 33. 355–374. 10.15298/arthsel.33.3.05.