Comparative study of spinning field development in two species of araneophagic spiders (Araneae, Mimetidae, Australomimetus)

External studies of spider spinning fields allow us to make inferences about internal silk gland biology, including what happens to silk glands when the spider molts. Such studies often focus on adults, but juveniles can provide additional insight on spinning apparatus development and character polarity. Here we document and describe spinning fields at all stadia in two species of pirate spider (Mimetidae: Australomimetus spinosus, A. djuka). Pirate spiders nest within the ecribellate orb-building spiders (Araneoidea), but are vagrant, araneophagic members that do not build prey-capture webs. Correspondingly, they lack aggregate and flagelliform silk glands (AG, FL), specialized for forming prey-capture lines in araneoid orb webs. However, occasional possible vestiges of an AG or FL spigot, as observed in one juvenile A. spinosus specimen, are consistent with secondary loss of AG and FL. By comparing spigots from one stadium to tartipores from the next stadium, silk glands can be divided into those that are tartipore-accommodated (T-A), and thus functional during proecdysis, and those that are not (non-T-A). Though evidence was more extensive in A. spinosus, it was likely true for both species that the number of non-T-A piriform silk glands (PI) was constant (two pairs) through all stadia, while numbers of T-A PI rose incrementally. The two species differed in that A. spinosus had T-A minor ampullate and aciniform silk glands (MiA, AC) that were absent in A. djuka. First instars of A. djuka, however, appeared to retain vestiges of T-A MiA spigots, consistent with a plesiomorphic state in which T-A MiA (called secondary MiA) are present. T-A AC have not previously been observed in Australomimetus and the arrangement of their spigots on posterior lateral spinnerets was unlike that seen thus far in other mimetid genera. Though new AC and T-A PI apparently form throughout much of a spider’s ontogeny, recurring spigot/tartipore arrangements indicated that AC and PI, after functioning during one stadium, were used again in each subsequent stadium (if non-T-A) or in alternate subsequent stadia (if T-A). In A. spinosus, sexual and geographic dimorphisms involving AC were noted. Cylindrical silk gland (CY) spigots were observed in mid-to-late juvenile, as well as adult, females of both species. Their use in juveniles, however, should not be assumed and only adult CY spigots had wide openings typical of mimetids. Neither species exhibited two pairs of modified PI spigots present in some adult male mimetids

Magazine "La Hormiga de Oro". Documentary Analysis

Las publicaciones periódicas nos permiten conocer la situación política, social y cultural de cada momento. Es objeto de este trabajo realizar un estudio de la revista católica y carlista La Hormiga de Oro (1884-1936). Se analiza por primera vez su desarrollo desde los orígenes, su estructura, el equipo de redacción y los profesionales que colaboraron en ella, así como el proyecto cultural de la gran empresa editorial La Hormiga de Oro, compuesta por la revista, la librería y la imprenta. Se investiga también la vida y obra de su fundador Luis María de Llauder, publicista, figura relevante del carlismo y sobre todo un gran periodista.The journals allows as to know the political, social and cultural situation of each moment in time, the aim of this project is to carry out a study of La Hormiga de Oro catholic magazine (1884-1936). Is analyzed for the first time its development since inception, its structure, the journalist team and professional collaborators, as well as the entrepreneurial project of the great company La Hormiga de Oro, composed of the magazine, the bookshop and the print house. Additionally, the life and work of his founder Luis María de Llauder, publicist, relevant figure of the Carlism and, above all, great journalist, is also analysed

The Importance of the Entrepreneur’s Perception of “Success”

Purpose - In spite of the fact that the success of new ventures has been a widely studied topic in the field of entrepreneurship, no consensus on what is understood by the success of a firm can be found in the literature. Thus, the objective of this work is to discover what the entrepreneur really understands by the success of his/her business in its early years. To that end, this study clarifies the principal indicators used by entrepreneurs and analyses the relationship between how entrepreneurs understand the success of their business and the performance of that business. Design/methodology/approach – In a logit regression model, the research data are analyzed, using a sample of 98 entrepreneurs who are the heads of new firms in various sectors of activity. Findings - The study shows that there is a relationship between the way in which the entrepreneur measures how the business is doing and the performance of that business. More specifically, this research reveals that it is not the use of a greater number of indicators to measure the success that identifies the successful newly-created business from the unsuccessful, but the fact that those indicators are from different perspectives. Moreover, the results show that customer-related indicators are more effective than financial indicators to distinguish between successful and unsuccessful organizations. Research limitations/implications – Future research including qualitative interviews will help to further investigate the relationship between the entrepreneur’s perception of success and company performance. Practical implications – As a result of this research, the entrepreneurs can be conscience about how important it is the way they understand “the success” before they constitute their business. The results of this study mean a valuable knowledge to the academics that research in the entrepreneurship field, specifically to those that are focused on the success factors study. Originality/value – This research is pioneering in relating the way that the entrepreneur measures his company’s success and demonstrating its importance.Entrepreneur’s perception of success; new ventures; entrepreneurship.

Cyrioctea (Araneae, Zodariidae) in Africa: temperate Gondwanaland relict, recent radiation, or both?

Two new species of the zodariid genus Cyrioctea Simon, 1889 are described: C. sawadee sp. nov. and C. lotzi sp. nov., both only known from males. The genus now contains seven Afrotropical species and this abundance is discussed in the context of its basal situation in the family and its apparent temperate Gondwanaland distribution, which implies a much greater age of the Zodariidae than presently accepted. Unlike most taxa with a temperate Gondwana distribution, Cyrioctea boasts a high number of species with small distribution areas. This points in the direction of a recent radiation initiated after a long period of stasis

Island time and the interplay between ecology and evolution in species diversification.

Research on the dynamics of biodiversity has progressed tremendously over recent years, although in two separate directions - ecological, to determine change over space at a given time, and evolutionary, to understand change over time. Integration of these approaches has remained elusive. Archipelagoes with a known geological chronology provide an opportunity to study ecological interactions over evolutionary time. Here, I focus on the Hawaiian archipelago and summarize the development of ecological and evolutionary research; I emphasize spiders because they have attributes allowing analysis of ecological affinities in concert with diversification. Within this framework, I highlight recent insights from the island chronosequence, in particular the importance of (i) selection and genetic drift in generating diversity; (ii) fusion and fission in fostering diversification; and (iii) variability upon which selection can act. Insights into biodiversity dynamics at the nexus of ecology and evolution are now achievable by integrating new tools, in particular (i) ecological metrics (interaction networks, maximum entropy inference) across the chronosequence to uncover community dynamics and (ii) genomic tools to understand contemporaneous microevolutionary change. The work can inform applications of invasion and restoration ecology by elucidating the importance of changes in abundances, interaction strengths, and rates of evolutionary response in shaping biodiversity

Monomorium destructor, la hormiga de Singapur, detectada y detenida en el puerto de Barcelona (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)

Monomorium destructor, la hormiga de Singapur, fue detectada en el puerto de Barcelona, dentro de un contenedor con mercancías procedentes de Corea del Sur. El producto fue devuelto al origen y el almacén y zona de descargas fumigados. Esta especie de hormiga invasora podría ser problemática en climas mediterráneos ya que es conocido su potencial dañino en productos muy variados.Monomorium destructor, the Singapore ant, was detected -and stopped- in a container at the Barcelona (Spain) harbour, within produce originating from South Korea. Product was returned to the origin and the unload area and warehouse were fumigated. This invasive ant may be of some concern in Mediterranean climates as is known to cause damage in a diverse array of goods

First evidence of aggressive chemical mimicry in the Malagasy orb weaving spider <i>Exechocentrus lancearius</i> Simon, 1889 (Arachnida: Araneae: Araneidae) and description of a second species in the genus

The araneid genus Exechocentrus Simon, 1889 and its type species Exechocentrus lancearius were originally described based on a single female specimen from Madagascar, which was missing the abdomen. The first complete adult specimen, a female, of Excechocentrus lancearius was collected in 2000. A second adult female of Excechocentrus sp. was discovered in 2009, about 300 km away from the first locality. We redescribe the neotype of Exechocentrus lancearius and describe the second adult female as Exechocentrus madilina new species. We also report some observations on the natural history of Exechocentrus lancearius, including photographs of its highly modified foraging web, which provide indirect evidence of aggressive chemical mimicry

The influence of social capital on risk-taking propensity. A study on Chinese immigrant entrepreneurs

This paper studies the influence of social capital on immigrant entrepreneurs’ risk-taking propensity. The paper has a particular focus on Chinese immigrants and also explores the effects of the so-called “guanxi”, a specific form of social capital for Chinese communities. The empirical research is based on a survey conducted in 2012 on Chinese immigrant entrepreneurs in Andalusia (Spain). An ordinal logistic regression specification was employed to test the hypotheses. The results show that the Chinese immigrant entrepreneurs with greater structural, relational and cognitive social capital and better “guanxi” have a higher risk-taking propensity in their business activity