Thiago Kloss

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Verified

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• PhD
• Professor at Federal University of Viçosa

Gibellula (Cordycipitaceae, Hypocreales) is frequently observed growing on spiders, but little is known about their host range. One of the greatest challenges in describing these interactions is identifying the host, since the fungus often rapidly consumes the parasitised spiders and destroys important diagnostic taxonomic traits. Additionally, the...

Some ichneumonid wasps induce modifications in the web building behavior of their spider hosts to produce resistant “cocoon” webs. These structures hold and protect the wasp’s cocoon during pupa development. The mechanism responsible for host manipulation probably involves the inoculation of psychotropic chemicals by the parasitoid larva during a s...

Parasitic infection or tissue consumption by parasitoids typically leads to several phenotypic alterations in hosts, including distinct changes in behavioural, morphological, or life history traits. Some of these changes may not result solely from host responses, but actively induced changes by parasites/parasitoids to manipulate the host to acquir...

How animals decide to withdraw from contests is central to understand the evolution of fighting behavior. Game theory models suggest 2 major types of decision criteria: 1) self-assessment, where individuals withdraw when they reach a cost-threshold determined by their own fighting ability that may or may not be affected by injuries, or 2) mutual as...

Some Darwin wasps of the Polysphincta genus group (Ichneumonidae, Pimplinae) are ectoparasitoids that induce behavioral alterations in their host spiders, resulting in the construction of modified webs, structures known as "cocoon webs". One relevant aspect for comprehending the manipulation mechanism employed by these wasps involves comparing the...

Motivation The accelerated and widespread conversion of once continuous ecosystems into fragmented landscapes has driven ecological research to understand the response of biodiversity to local (fragment size) and landscape (forest cover and fragmentation) changes. This information has important theoretical and applied implications, but is still far...

Certain parasites improve their fitness by manipulating their host’s behaviour. Some evidence suggests that parasites exploit innate pathways in the host to manipulate their behaviour. Furthermore, phylogenetically unrelated parasites can generate similar behavioural changes in hosts from the same taxonomic group. Spiders are hosts for several para...

In this study, we offer the first insights into the biology of Ticapimpla wasps. We described the web modifications induced by T. carinata in their host spider Spilasma duodecimguttata, comparing webs built by parasitized and non-parasitized individuals of S. duodecimguttata, collected in a continuous old-growth forest in the Central Amazon. In add...

Wasps from the Polysphincta genus group (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Pimplinae) are currently the only parasitoid wasps that are ectoparasitoids of spiders. The species of the group exhibit several morphological and behavioral adaptations, which allow exploiting their host spiders. Here, we describe the external morphology, behavior and natural his...

Optimal foraging and individual specialization theories suggest that different properties of the interactions between prey and predators determine foraging strategies. However, none of these theories consider how the nutritional status of the predators and the risk of being attacked by other predators may affect prey foraging strategy. Shelter-buil...

Pseudogaurax Malloch is a genus of Chloropidae with about 70 described species found in all biogeographic regions, but several additional undescribed species are known. In this study we describe six new species from Brazil: Pseudogaurax alvinae sp. nov., Pseudogaurax amazonica sp. nov., Pseudogaurax braoculatus sp. nov., Pseudogaurax cyclosa sp. no...

Hymenoepimecis wasps (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) are ectoparasitoids of spiders that modify the hosts’ behaviour by inducing changes in webs. Variations in the male reproductive tract contribute to enhancing our understanding of the reproductive behaviour of these insects. This study describes the morphology of the male reproductive tract of Hymen...

Wandering spiders (genus Phoneutria) hold a prominent position as some of the world's most medically significant venomous arachnids, especially in Brazil. In this study, we record and illustrate for the first time, the Darwin wasp Camera thoracica (Szépligeti, 1916) as a natural enemy of the ctenid Phoneutria nigriventer (Keyserling, 1891). Further...

Behavioral modifications induced by parasites have been extensively documented across multiple taxa. However, a major challenge is to experimentally determine whether such manipulations confer an adaptive advantage to the parasite. Behavioral alterations in spiders attacked by ichneumonid wasps are characterized by the construction of modified webs...

Hymenoepimecis is a genus of Darwin wasps in the Polysphincta group of genera (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Pimplinae) known as ectoparasitoids of a broad spectrum of spiders. The parasitoid induces production of a web known as cocoon web, which provides shelter and support for the wasp pupa. In this study, we describe for the first time the interac...

Optimal foraging and individual specialization theories suggest that different properties of the interaction between prey and predators determine foraging strategies. However, none of them consider how the nutritional status of the predators and the risk of being attacked by other predators can affect the option for these strategies. Some spider sp...

Leaf-cutting ants interact naturally with a range of antagonistic microorganisms, among them the soil-borne fungus Syncephalastrum. The antagonism of this fungus to the leaf-cutting ants' fungal cultivar has been shown in studies without the ant queens. So far, the impacts of this fungus on whole colonies (queenright) of leaf-cutting ants are unkno...

Some ichneumonid wasps of the Polysphincta group of genera (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Pimplinae) induce behavioral modifications in their host spiders during a specific moment of their development, resulting in the construction of webs that differ in several aspects from those constructed by unparasitized individuals. In this study, we describe t...

Strategies to invade and exploit hosts for survival are an essential part of the parasitic lifestyle. Species of the Polysphincta genus group (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), which utilize spiders as hosts, are examples of parasitoids that present several behavioral strategies in host immobilization and egg laying. In this study, we characterized the...

This study provides contributions to the knowledge on diversity and natural history of hyperparasitoids (Hymenoptera) associated with host–parasitoid interactions between spiders (Araneae) and polysphinctine Darwin wasps (Pimplinae) in the Atlantic Forest, Brazil, South America. All hyperparasitoids emerged in the laboratory from polysphinctine coc...

Symbioses between social insects and fungi can drive important processes in both. We show previously unrealised prevalence and diversity of Trichoderma species (Ascomycota: Hypocreales) in individuals of two termite species (Blattodea: Termitidae). Trichoderma is well known for producing cellulolytic and fungistatic compounds, which can be importan...

Eusocial insects interact with a diversity of parasites that can threaten their survival and reproduction. The amount of harm these parasites cause to their hosts (i.e., their virulence) can be influenced by numerous factors, such as the ecological context in which the parasite and its host are inserted. Leaf-cutting ants (genera Atta, Acromyrmex a...

Some Ichneumonidae wasps, including the genus Acrotaphus Townes, 1960 (Ephialtini: Pimplinae) induce behavioral modification in their spider hosts. Acrotaphus is a New World parasitoid wasp genus with 26 described species. This genus belongs to the Polysphincta genus group, which are ectoparasitoids of spiders of the Araneidae family. In this study...

Parasitoids may change host behavior in order to improve their survival during the pupal stage. This has been observed in some ichneumonid wasps (Polysphincta genus group), which are able to induce modifications in the movements of host spiders during web construction. These changes usually result in web patterns distinct from those of normal webs...

A new species of Cladochaeta Coquillett (Diptera: Drosophilidae) is described, C. caxiuana sp. nov. from the Brazilian Amazon, based on 10 male and 10 female specimens obtained from nymphs of Sphodroscarta trivirgata (Amyot & Serville, 1843) (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Aphrophoridae). The female of Cladochaeta atlantica Pirani & Amorim, 2016 is de...

Polysphinctine wasps are exclusive parasitoids of spiders and their host utilisation strategies are highly taxonomically specific. In this study, the host utilisation of two Australasian parasitoid wasps of the genus Eriostethus was studied for the first time. Our study revealed considerable differences in host-parasitoid interactions between Erios...

Modified webs constructed by spiders parasitized by Ichneumonid wasps were first mentioned in literature in 1771. These initial observations were restricted to the description of the cocoon web spun by an unidentified spider species presenting a cocoon attached. Only in the year 2000 was the subject intensively studied in another host/parasitoid sy...

Data table for 20-OH-ecdysone concentration obtained in liquid chromatography mass spectrometry analysis of Cyclosa morretes, C. fililineata and its parasitoid wasps. (XLSX)

Representative chromatograms of ecdysone 371 ion product in Cyclosa morretes and C. fililineata spider hosts and respective second or third stage parasitoid larva (Polysphincta janzeni and P. sp. nr. purcelli wasps, respectively). Chromatograms were obtained by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry with the multiple reaction monitoring strategy d...

Representative chromatograms of ecdysone 445 ion product in Cyclosa morretes and C. fililineata spider hosts and respective second or third stage parasitoid larva (Polysphincta janzeni and P. sp. nr. purcelli wasps, respectively). Chromatograms were obtained by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry with the multiple reaction monitoring strategy d...

Individual nutritional status may increase marginal foraging costs and potentially drive animal foraging strategies. Here, we investigated how it might affect foraging strategies of the shelter-building spider Hingstepeira folisecens (Hingston 1932) (Araneidae). This spider can catch prey using two strategies with different relative costs: ‘pulling...

Species in the Polysphincta genus group, as far as is known, are exclusively koinobiont ectoparasitoids of spiders. These wasps attack their hosts, inflicting a temporary paralysis, and then lay one egg on the host’s abdomen or prosoma. Parasitoid attack behavior is highly variable among species, including occasions where the wasp darts directly an...

Trichogramma spp. are parasitoids used in the regulation of insect populations that can cause economic damage. In order to ensure good performance, understanding some of their biological characteristics is essential. The objective of this study is to evaluate whether mating interferes with the biological characteristics of a population of Trichogra...

No Brasil, Ficus mexiae é classificada como uma espécie vulnerável sob os critérios da IUCN, e até agora não há um único relatório sobre a atividade dos polinizadores desta espécie. Não é raro encontrar casos em que mais de uma espécie de vespa, simultaneamente, ocorre e poliniza o mesmo figo. Neste estudo, apresentamos evidências de que duas espéc...

INTRODUÇÃO Dentre as muitas espécies que compõem a biodiversidade na Mata Atlântica, estão aquelas do gênero Ficus (Moraceae), que apresentam importante papel de recurso-chave para muitas espécies, por apresentarem frutos comestíveis, os quais são utilizados por uma diversificada fauna de animais silvestres (CARAUTA,1989). Muitas espécies de Ficus...