TL;DR: Within-species divergence was S. villosa and S. incana, had adjacent predicted distributions, one coastal on sandy soils and one inland on other soil types, and DNA sequence data for the segment of COIused in other salticid studies was obtained for the five species for which suitable material was available.
Abstract: The genus Servaea Simon 1887 is revised and redefined. Descriptions and identification keys are provided to the following sixspecies, of which three are described as new: Servaea incana (Karsch 1878), Servaea narraweena n. sp., Servaea melaina n.sp., Servaea spinibarbis Simon 1909, Servaea villosa (Keyserling 1881) and Servaea zabkai n. sp. The type species of thegenus, Servaea vestita (L. Koch 1879), is proposed here to be a junior synonym of Servaea incana. In addition to the diagnosesand descriptions, distributional and nucleotide sequence information are provided. DNA sequence data for the segment of COIused in other salticid studies was obtained for the five species for which suitable material was available. Intraspecific variationin S. villosa and S. incana were studied in more detail. Within-species divergence was S. melaina and S spinibarbis, had adjacent predicted distributions, one coastal on sandy soils and one inland on other soil types.
TL;DR: This study reports the first host association for Ogcodes pygmaeus White, 1914 (Diptera: Acroceridae) after discovering dead acrocerids and their host spiders inside Sceliphron formosum Smith, 1856 (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae) nests in ACT, Australia.
Abstract: Acroceridae, known as spider flies, are exclusive endoparasitoids of spiders. This study reports the first host association for Ogcodes pygmaeus White, 1914 (Diptera: Acroceridae) after discovering dead acrocerids and their host spiders inside Sceliphron formosum Smith, 1856 (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae) nests in ACT, Australia. From a total of 650 sampled wasp nests, 14 were discovered with multiple spiders parasitised by species of Ogcodes Latreille, 1796. Two species of jumping spiders in the genus Servaea Simon, 1887 (Araneae: Salticidae), including an undescribed species, were identified as hosts of O. pygmaeus in this study. We hypothesise that the parasitised spiders were brought back to the nest as S. formosum prey items, and when acrocerid adults emerged they were trapped inside the sealed nests. Dead pupae were also found in the nests along with the dead adult acrocerids. To our knowledge, this entrapment of spider parasites inside S. formosum nests has not been documented before, and this study represents a new method for obtaining acrocerid fly host records.