Pesticide comparison of Phylloneta impressa (Araneae: Theridiidae) females, cocoons and webs with prey remnants collected from a rape field before the harvest

Abstract

BACKGROUND Pesticides or plant protection products (PPPs) are risky for spiders in or near agricultural landscapes. However, the risks posed by pesticides to spiders are largely understudied compared with the risks to pollinators. Here, we investigated the distribution of PPPs in adult females, cocoons and webs with prey remnants of Phylloneta impressa. RESULTS Three sample types were collected from the tops of rapeseed on 18 July (before the harvest). Three different ultraperformance liquid chromatograph coupled with triple‐quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer (UHPLC–QqQ–MS/MS) analyses were performed: (i) pesticides and selected metabolites; (ii) quaternary ammonium pesticides (quats); and (iii) pyrethroids. Overall, 23 compounds, 22 pesticides and the metabolite imidacloprid‐urea were detected. The array of pesticides was largest in webs with prey remnants, and according to evaluation via redundancy analysis (RDA), pesticides were similar in spiders and cocoons; however, data inspection revealed differences in pesticide distribution among these samples. Clothianidin was detected in only female spiders, whereas thiamethoxam prevailed in webs with remnants of prey, and acetamiprid, thiacloprid and imidacloprid were found in all three matrices. One of the most abundant compounds was chlormequat, indicating that quats should be considered a possible risk for these spiders. None of the pyrethroids were detected despite being applied in the sampling area, indicating rapid biodegradation. By contrast, some pesticides were detected despite not being applied in the field, indicating that the source of contamination is prey or particles carried by wind and attached to webs. CONCLUSION Overall, the results indicate the different distribution or behavior of several pesticides in the spider matrices. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry

Can Wolf Spider Mothers Detect Insecticides in the Environment? Does the Silk of the Egg‐Sac Protect Juveniles from Insecticides?

“…Thus, the behavioral modifications associated with the treated egg-sacs were due to temporary chemical modifications of the 15-d-old egg-sacs, and not to their juvenile viability. Even so, it is not possible to rule out the passage of insecticides via the silk of the egg-sac, or via the trophic level, through consumption by the mother of prey with insecticide and consequently the passage to the eggs, as reported for Phylloneta impressa for imidacloprid and other insecticides (Erban et al 2019).…”

“…In addition, they cause behavioral changes and serious toxic effects in adults, and in juveniles and embryos during development of oviparous and viviparous organisms. These effects are currently leading to a significant reduction in entomofauna populations (Fry 1995; Greulich and Pflugmacher 2003; Cold and Forbes 2004; Viant et al 2006; Zhu et al 2014; Erban et al 2019), which will cause, in the medium term, extinction of endemic species (Sánchez‐Bayo and Wyckhuys 2019). One possible way to reduce insecticide use is biological control (Tooker et al 2020).…”

Effect of the Insecticide Chlorpyrifos on Behavioral and Metabolic Aspects of the Spider Polybetes pythagoricus

“…The compound's half‐life in soils is variable, ranging from a few days under air‐dry soils (Awasthi & Prakash, 1999) to 4 years with high concentrations and a low rate of biotic and abiotic degradation (John & Shaike, 2015). Chlorpyrifos acts as an inhibitor of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in target organisms (Díaz‐Barriga Arceo et al, 2015), but also affects nontarget organisms such as spiders (Erban et al, 2019).…”

Lethal concentrations of glyphosate-based herbicide on nymphs of agroecosystem spider predator Phylloneta impressa L. Koch 1881

“…This theridiid spider is often used as a model organism in agroecosystem experiments. Recently, the content of pesticides in the body of adults as well as in the web and cocoon were analysed (Erban et al, 2020). Neonicotinoids negatively affect its ability to disperse and colonize new ecosystems (Řezáč et al, 2019).…”