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This is the first detailed contribution on the arachnid fauna from heated greenhouses in the Botanical Garden of the P.J. Šafárik University in Košice (Slovakia). Over ten years 62 spider taxa in 21 families were found. Two spiders, Mermessus trilobatus (Emerton, 1882) and Hasarius adansoni (Audouin, 1826), were recorded in Slovakia for the first time. Another interesting record was the cellar spider Hoplopholcus sp. and a new locality for the exotic spiders Coleosoma floridanum Banks, 1900 and Triaeris stenaspis Simon, 1891 was discovered. Additionally, a short survey of other arachnids (except Acari) was done. A single specimen of a provisionally identifiable palpigrade species (cf. Eukoenenia florenciae), one harvestmen species, Opilio canestrinii (Thorell, 1876), and four pseudoscorpion species were recorded. The rare pseudoscorpion species Chthonius ressli Beier, 1956 was collected for the second time in Slovakia.

A sample of goji leaves with blisters was brought from a private garden in Vyšná Kamenica to the Botanical Garden of Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice to identify the problem. The respective plant (Lycium chinense Miller cv. Big Berry) was bought through the internet and these distortions occurred after some time during cultivation. The mites found on the deformed leaves were examined using a light microscope and a scanning electron microscope (SEM) as well. The identity of Aceria kuko (Kishida, 1927), the goji berry gall mite, was confirmed. Other available possible host plants in Košice and the surroundings were checked with no positive findings. However, typical foliar galls on goji plants have been indirectly observed (through the television) in Malinovo near Bratislava. Due to the risk from this mite species not only to the goji (Lycium sp.) but also to the pepper (Capsicum annuum Linnaeus) and some other Solanaceae plants, the respective authorities of the Slovak phytosanitary service were informed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the first record of the oleander aphid (Aphis nerii Boyer de Fonscolombe, 1841; Hemiptera: Aphididae) in Slovakia, and also one of the most northern record of this natural pest on the invasive common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca Linnaeus.; Apocynaceae) in Central Europe. Modern social media crowdsourcing has achieved comprehensive distribution data in the horticultural community, and a total of 35 new distribution sites were discovered in 28 Slovak settlements, one new site in Austria, and one in the Czech Republic. It was further established that the oleander aphid could survive in anthropogenic refuges during the winter months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spiders eating diaspores (seeds and fruits) from myrmecochorous plants - i.e. those adapted to distribution by ants - is recorded here for the first time as a new case of herbivory in these typical predators. Having found seeds of Costus dubius (Afzel.) K. Schum. (1904) trapped in the web of a Parasteatoda spider (Theridiidae), tests with available myrmecochorous seeds and spiders in the greenhouses of the Botanical garden of the P. J. Šafárik University in Košice (Slovakia) were carried out. Parasteatoda spiders can actively collect C. dubius seeds near their webs and feed on them for a long time. Diaspores with elaiosomes (nutrient-rich appendages) from five other myrmecochorous plant species thrown directly into webs of Parasteatoda sp. and Uloborus plumipes Lucas, 1846 (Uloboridae), another spider species very abundant at this location, were also consumed. These initial observations show that the special chemical composition of elaiosomes, which imitates insect prey primarily for ants, can be attractive for some spider species too. Considering the tested taxa, in the case of Uloboridae contact with such food sources is improbable in their typical niches. However, at least some Theridiidae could also consume myrmecochorous diaspores in nature, especially if they are near source plants or paths of ants transporting these diaspores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feather-legged spider Uloborus plumipes Lucas, 1846 was found in the Botanical Garden of the P. J. Šafárik University in Košice. Population of this species, new to Slovak arachnofauna, was irregularly distributed in greenhouses of that place. Short information on spatial spread of this spider within specific environmental conditions there is presented in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]