Climate warming is considered to be among the most serious of anthropogenic stresses to the environment, because it not only has direct effects on biodiversity, but it also exacerbates the harmful effects of other human‐mediated threats. The associated consequences are potentially severe, particularly in terms of threats to species preservation, as well as in the preservation of an array of ecosystem services provided by biodiversity. Among the most affected groups of animals are insects—central components of many ecosystems—for which climate change has pervasive effects from individuals to communities. In this contribution to the scientists' warning series, we summarize the effect of the gradual global surface temperature increase on insects, in terms of physiology, behavior, phenology, distribution, and species interactions, as well as the effect of increased frequency and duration of extreme events such as hot and cold spells, fires, droughts, and floods on these parameters. We warn that, if no action is taken to better understand and reduce the action of climate change on insects, we will drastically reduce our ability to build a sustainable future based on healthy, functional ecosystems. We discuss perspectives on relevant ways to conserve insects in the face of climate change, and we offer several key recommendations on management approaches that can be adopted, on policies that should be pursued, and on the involvement of the general public in the protection effort.

Legal and illegal wildlife trade is a multibillion dollar industry that is driving several species toward extinction. Even though wildlife trade permeates the Tree of Life, most analyses to date focused on the trade of a small selection of charismatic vertebrate species. Given that vertebrate taxa represent only 3% of described species, this is a significant bias that prevents the development of comprehensive conservation strategies. In this short contribution, we discuss the significance of global wildlife trade considering the full diversity of organisms for which data are available in the IUCN database. We emphasize the importance of being fast and effective in filling the knowledge gaps about non-vertebrate life forms, in order to achieve an in-depth understanding of global trading patterns across the full canopy of the Tree of Life, and not just its most appealing twig.

The genus Avicularia Lamarck, 1818 is revised and all species are rediagnosed. The type species, described as Aranea avicularia Linnaeus, 1758, is the oldest mygalomorph species described and its taxonomic history is extensive and confusing. Cladistic analyses using both equal and implied weights were carried out with a matrix of 46 taxa from seven theraphosid subfamilies, and 71 morphological and ecological characters. The optimal cladogram found with Piwe and concavity = 6 suggests Avicularia and Aviculariinae are monophyletic. Subfamily Aviculariinae includes Avicularia Lamarck, 1818, Typhochlaena C. L. Koch, 1850, Tapinauchenius Ausserer, 1871, Stromatopelma Karsch, 1881, Ephebopus Simon, 1892, Psalmopoeus Pocock, 1895, Heteroscodra Pocock, 1899, Iridopelma Pocock, 1901, Pachistopelma Pocock, 1901, Ybyrapora gen. n., Caribena gen. n., and Antillena gen. n. The clade is supported by well-developed scopulae on tarsi and metatarsi, greatly extended laterally. Avicularia synapomorphies are juveniles bearing black tarsi contrasting with other lighter articles; spermathecae with an accentuated outwards curvature medially, and male palpal bulb with embolus medial portion and tegulum’s margin form an acute angle in retrolateral view. Avicularia is composed of twelve species, including three new species: Avicularia avicularia (Linnaeus, 1818), Avicularia glauca Simon, 1891, Avicularia variegata (F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1896) stat. n., A. minatrix Pocock, 1903, Avicularia taunayi (Mello-Leitão, 1920), Avicularia juruensis Mello-Leitão, 1923, Avicularia rufa Schiapelli & Gerschman, 1945, Avicularia purpurea Kirk, 1990, A. hirschii Bullmer et al. 2006, Avicularia merianae sp. n., A. lynnae sp. n., and A. caei sp. n.. Avicularia species are distributed throughout Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil. Three new genera are erected to accommodate former Avicularia species: Caribena gen. n., composed of Caribena laeta (C. L. Koch, 1842), comb. n. and Caribena versicolor (Walckenaer, 1837), comb. n.; Antillena gen. n., with a single species, Antillena rickwesti (Bertani & Huff, 2013), comb. n., both from the Caribbean; and Ybyrapora gen. n., composed of Ybyrapora sooretama (Bertani & Fukushima, 2009), comb. n., Ybyrapora gamba (Bertani & Fukushima, 2009), comb. n. and Ybyrapora diversipes (C. L. Koch, 1842), comb. n. from Brazilian rainforest. The subspecies Avicularia avicularia variegata F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1896 is elevated to species status, resulting in the combination Avicularia variegata (F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1896) stat. n.. The following new synonymies are established: Avicularia velutina Simon 1889, Avicularia exilis Strand, 1907, Avicularia ancylochyra Mello-Leitão, 1923, Avicularia cuminami Mello-Leitão, 1930, and Avicularia nigrotaeniata Mello-Leitão, 1940 are junior synonyms of A. avicularia; Avicularia bicegoi Mello-Leitão, 1923 is a junior synonym of A. variegata stat. n., and Avicularia urticans Schmidt, 1994 is a junior synonym of Avicularia juruensis Mello-Leitão, 1923. Species transferred to other genera: Avicularia affinis (Nicolet, 1849) is transferred to Euathlus Ausserer, 1875, making the new combination Euathlus affinis (Nicolet, 1849), comb. n.; Avicularia subvulpina Strand, 1906 is transferred to Grammostola Simon, 1892, making the new combination Grammostola subvulpina (Strand, 1906), comb. n.; Avicularia aymara (Chamberlin, 1916) is transferred to Thrixopelma Schmidt, 1994, making the new combination Thrixopelma aymara (Chamberlin, 1916), comb. n.; Avicularia leporina (C. L. Koch, 1841) and Avicularia plantaris (C. L. Koch, 1842) are transferred to Iridopelma Pocock, 1901, making the new combinations Iridopelma leporina (C. L. Koch, 1841), comb. n. and Iridopelma plantaris (C. L. Koch, 1842), comb. n.; the two last species are considered nomina dubia. The following species are considered nomina dubia: Avicularia hirsutissima (C. L. Koch, 1842) nomen dubium; Ischnocolus hirsutum Ausserer, 1875 nomen dubium; Ischnocolus gracilis Keyserling, 1891 nomen dubium; Avicularia arabica (Strand, 1908) nomen dubium; Araneus hirtipes (Fabricius, 1787) nomen dubium; Avicularia ochracea (Perty, 1833) nomen dubium; Avicularia walckenaerii (Perty, 1833) nomen dubium; Avicularia testacea (C. L. Koch, 1841) nomen dubium; Avicularia detrita (C. L. Koch, 1842) nomen dubium; Ischnocolus doleschalli Ausserer, 1871 nomen dubium; Avicularia metallica Ausserer, 1875 nomen dubium; Avicularia rapax (Ausserer, 1875) nomen dubium; Avicularia holmbergi Thorell, 1890 nomen dubium; Avicularia aurantiaca Bauer, 1996 nomen dubium; Avicularia azuraklaasi Tesmoingt, 1996 nomen dubium; Avicularia huriana Tesmoingt, 1996 nomen dubium; Avicularia ulrichea Tesmoingt, 1996 nomen dubium; Avicularia braunshauseni Tesmoingt, 1999 nomen dubium; Avicularia geroldi Tesmoingt, 1999 nomen dubium; Avicularia soratae Strand, 1907 nomen dubium; Avicularia fasciculata Strand, 1907 nomen dubium; Avicularia fasciculata clara Strand, 1907 nomen dubium; and Avicularia surinamensis Strand, 1907 nomen dubium. Avicularia vestiaria (De Geer, 1778) is considered nomen nudum. Keys are provided for identification of all aviculariine genera, as well as to Avicularia, Caribena gen. n., Ybyrapora gen. n. and Antillena gen. n. species. Maps with records and information on species habitat are also presented. Lectotypes are newly designed for A. avicularia, A. variegata stat. n., A. juruensis, C. laeta comb. n., E. affinis comb. n. and a neotype is established for C. versicolor comb. n.

CITES is an international agreement between governments to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. Regarding spiders, all species listed in CITES are tarantulas. They are included in Appendix II, meaning that they are species that are not necessarily now threatened with extinction but that they may become so unless trade is closely controlled. Many tarantulas are legally and illegally traded in the pet market and they are one of the most traded invertebrate groups. Originally, the CITES list published in 1995 included all the current species of the genus Brachypelma Simon, 1891 plus Aphonopelma pallidum (F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1897) and the so-called Aphonopelma albiceps (Pocock, 1903). After that, some taxonomic changes were done, as well as descriptions of new species in the genus Brachypelma. The objective of this paper is to assess the 21 taxonomically valid spider species listed on CITES according to the IUCN criteria, study the general patterns and trends and advise on possible future conservation actions critical for the survival of endangered species. Amongst all 21 species assessed, 16 had sufficient data on their distribution, ecology and threats to properly understand their current status and suggest possible conservation measures. A decline in the area of occupancy (AOO) and extent of occurrence (EOO) was inferred to almost all species, caused mostly by human activities (urbanisation, roads, agricultural and touristic activities), which often lead to the complete loss of subpopulations across their range. Hurricanes and frequent rising water, which are increasing in frequency due to climate change, can cause decline in habitat quality and consequent change in EOO and AOO of some species and should also be considered when planning conservation actions. Severe fragmentation was detected in 13 species and is therefore one of the most relevant threats to the most endangered Brachypelma species and should be made a priority aspect to deal with when proposing conservation actions for the group. Regarding the loss of individuals in wild populations, the main cause seems to be the overharvesting to meet the illegal trade. The most important conservation actions identified across species include preserving their natural habitat through protected areas, establishing management plans for both the species and their habitats and undertaking systematic monitoring to provide information about population recovery and species re-introduction programmes. In general, we propose to prioritise and support research on the population trends and distribution, as well as on the impact of land use and habitat degradation. Special attention regarding conservation actions and research plans has to be given to the central Pacific coastal area of Mexico, particularly around Guerrero State where five species of Brachypelma occur. Critically, for some of the most endangered species, such as B. baumgarteni and B. hamorii, there is no official protected area in their range of occurrence. It would therefore be highly recommended to establish at least one conservation unit which focuses on protecting each of these species in situ. In some cases, basic taxonomic research is needed before development of any appropriate conservation action can be proposed.