Comparative profile of free ions in venom and heamolymph of citrus spiders from Pakistan

Five most common families of spiders were selected for the determination of free ions in their venoms and hemolymphs or body fluids. significant differences were found in ionic content of venoms of different families. venom had higher concentration of k + than in the body fluid. ca 2+ and na + showed non-significant differences between venom and hemolymph. in some cases however,na was lower in the venom than in the body fluids. these differences and variations were mostly species specific. similarly cl -1 ion concentration was significantly (p>0.00) higher in the body fluids than that in the venoms. among the two sexes females had lower concentrations of k + and ca ++ than their male counterpart. females of the genus myrmarachne had a low concentration of k + and na + while sparassidae sp. had the significantly highest k + content when compared with their males. copyright 2010 zoological society of pakistan.