Arthropod Classes Research Articles

Towards a Taxonomy Machine: A Training Set of 5.6 Million Arthropod Images

The taxonomic identification of organisms from images is an active research area within the machine learning community. Current algorithms are very effective for object recognition and discrimination, but they require extensive training datasets to generate reliable assignments. This study releases 5.6 million images with representatives from 10 arthropod classes and 26 insect orders. All images were taken using a Keyence VHX-7000 Digital Microscope system with an automatic stage to permit high-resolution (4K) microphotography. Providing phenotypic data for 324,000 species derived from 48 countries, this release represents, by far, the largest dataset of standardized arthropod images. As such, this dataset is well suited for testing the efficacy of machine learning algorithms for identifying specimens into higher taxonomic categories.

Diversity of arthropods subservient to olive groves in arid region (Northeastern Algeria)

Olea europaea L. 1753, is one of the oldest and most distinctive trees in the Mediterranean region. Its nutritional, social, cultural, and economic value is very important for populations in arid regions, where it is widely distributed. A sign of a sustainable environment in many agricultural regions is the existence of a wide variety and abundance of arthropod groups. The main objective of the study is to evaluate the diversity of arthropods subservientin in olive agro-systems in the arid region by using several sampling techniques, namely classic sight hunting, visual inspection, Barber pots, and yellow traps. The inventory is carried out over a period of 5 months, from February to June 2023, in three stations in M’Sila (northeastern Algeria). Three classes of arthropods were found: Insecta, Arachnida, and Malacostraca. Captures were numerically dominated by Insecta, representing 96.88% of total captures. Arachnida and Malacostraca classes represented about 2.74 and 0.38%, respectively. During this research, a total of 1861 arthropod individuals were collected and identified into 83 species, 79 genera, 53 families, and 15 orders. The most abundant orders were: Diptera (42.56%), Hymenoptera (28.11%), and Coleoptera (7.32%). However, we found a significant difference in species composition according to habitat (P 0.01). The species were determined, and the ecological indices were calculated (Shannon Value, Evenness values and Simpson reciprocal index). The dominant functional feeding groups were phytophages (41.91 %), predators (32.94%), and polyphages (22.14%). The arthropods included several olive pests such as Euphyllura olivina (Costa) (Hemiptera: Liviidae), Bactrocera oleae (Rossi) (Diptera: Tephritidae), Prays oleae (Bernard) (Lepidoptera: Praydidae), Liothrips oleae Costa (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae), and Oxycenus maxwelli (Keifer) (Arachnida: Eriophyidae). Keywords: diversity, arthropods, pests, olive grove, species richness, arid land.

Evaluating the water quality status using selected indexes and the aquatic arthropod species composition of the Idim Eye-Asana River, south Nigeria

The objective of the study was to evaluate the water quality status and the aquatic arthropod species composition of the Idim Eye-Asana River, Edebom 1, between May and July 2023. The sampling area was divided into four (4) sampling sites with unique coordinates. The physico-chemical parameters such as dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, temperature, total dissolved solute (TDS), inorganic contents; nitrate, sulphate, nitrite, and phosphate were measured using standardised methods. The aquatic arthropod specimens were collected using standardised circular-framed net with a 0.05µm mesh size and 35cm in diameter with an iron handle of 2m in length. Single factor pollution index (Pi), Biological Monitoring Working Party (BMWP) index, and diversity indices were calculated to evaluate the water quality status of the river. The physico-chemical parameter results revealed that they were differently significant between the sampling sites. The inorganic contents (contaminants) results showed that nitrate, phosphate, nitrite, and sulphate were differently significant at a 95% t-test between the sampling sites. The Pi values for the inorganic contents revealed that the water quality at site 2 was moderately polluted (3.25) with nitrite, whereas sites 3 (2.85) and 4 (2.50) were lightly polluted. Three (3) arthropod classes, sorted into seven (7) orders, and thirty-four (34) families were collected. Through the BMWP index results, the water quality classification for the water status at site 1 was regular (moderately contaminated), site 2 (poor), and sites 3 and 4 (Good water quality). Sites 3 and 4 sections of the river had good water quality, and as indicated by the results, it was concluded that the sites (i.e., 3 and 4) have better ecological conditions that can sustain the development and survival of the aquatic arthropod species.

Arthropods discovered on refugio flowering plants in Mangifera indica plantation

Abstract. Windriyanti W, Rahmadhini N, Fernando I, Kusuma RM. 2023. Arthropods discovered on refugio flowering plants in Mangifera indica plantation. Biodiversitas 24: 4747-4754. The diversity of Refugio flowering plants with different ways of flowering phenology provides alternative food sources for arthropods. Insects are the largest class of arthropods, most of which are ecological services that function as natural enemies and pollinators. Insects require an energy source over a long-term period to promote a stable and healthy population. The use of flowering plants as refugia can maximize the role of insects as ecological services in agroecosystems by providing natural enemies and pollinators with a source of food and shelter. The refugia plants used in this study were sunflowers (Helianthus annuus), king’s salad (Cosmos caudatus), Peruvian zinnia (Zinnia peruviana), Tridax procumbens (Asteraceae), and Alternanthera sessilis (Amaranthaceae) with hedgerow and insectary bank planting patterns. Data collection and periodic direct observation (scan sampling) were conducted by transects. Observed parameters included species composition and population of arthropods in two different agro-systems, monoculture and polyculture. Identification results showed 8 orders, including 44 morphospecies, belonging to 25 families. Arthropod abundance in the on-season of the refugia was found in 1422 individuals. Ecological engineering is a habitat manipulation technology using refugia plants that has increased the composition and population of natural enemy insects and pollinators.

Diversity of ground-dwelling arthropods on overburden dumps after coal mining

Technogenic landscapes formed by coal mining are unique model sites for studying primary succession. We studied the formation of arthropod communities on rock dumps at coal mine dump sites of different ages and in natural environments. Using the pitfall traps, 5 classes of arthropods were found, with the domination of Insecta and Arachnida. The species composition for most of the studied groups of invertebrates was determined, the Berger-Parker dominance and Shannon species diversity indices were calculated. It has been established that the colonization of dumps depends not only on the age of recultivated lands, but also on habitat conditions (soil characteristics, vegetation parameters). At the beginning of the succession, dumps are massively populated by small-sized species that are tolerant of extreme conditions and have high dispersal abilities. Further development of vegetation entailed a change in the general structure of the ground-dwelling of arthropods communities. Discriminant analysis showed that the macrofauna of the compared sites differs statistically significantly in the space of discriminant functions. The areas at the foot of the dump and the natural biotope are characterized by the maximum differences; the greatest similarity was found between the young and old dumps. A significant contribution to the overall discrimination is made by the beetles of the families Geotrupidae, Staphylinidae, Elateridae, as well as centipedes (Chilopoda), and terrestrial bugs (Hemiptera). This study showed that communities of ground invertebrates are good indicators for monitoring the restoration of technogenically disturbed lands.

Ecomorphosis in European Collembola: A review in the context of trait-based ecology

Collembola are a widespread class of arthropods that live mostly in the soil or on its surface. Communities of Collembola have notably been used as bioindicators of several environmental factors such as pollution or land use. Recently, they have also opened perspectives for monitoring the effects of projected climate change on soil biodiversity, in particular through the responses of their traits. Collembola are known to exhibit several morphological variations throughout their lifecycle (other than growth and sexual dimorphism). One of these phenomena, ecomorphosis, has been described as a survival strategy mainly triggered by elevated temperature. This could be of interest in analysing collembolan adaptation to climate change, yet studies on this are - to date - sparse in international literature in English. To begin to address this gap, we conducted a literature review that enabled us to: (i) identify the concepts behind the ecomorphosis strategy, (ii) list the collembolan species known to display ecomorphosis, (iii) summarize its consequences on individuals; and (iv) analyse its theoretical implications for community ecology and functional ecology. We then discussed its potential use as a proxy for climate adversity. We thus suggested using the ability of a species to display ecomorphosis as a trait, and in the future test its responses in collembolan communities along climatic gradients. Considering the recent inputs of taking into account intraspecific trait variability in community ecology, we advocate for a better understanding of such eco-physiological strategies in order to improve our hypotheses-based approaches in trait-environment relationships. In a context of rapid global climate change, our findings may provide insights into functional responses to climatic gradients in Collembola, and hopefully contribute to stimulate discussion in other soil fauna biological models.

The role of cofeeding arthropods in the transmission of Rickettsia felis.

Rickettsia felis is an emerging etiological agent of rickettsioses worldwide. The cosmopolitan cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis) is the primary vector of R. felis, but R. felis has also been reported in other species of hematophagous arthropods including ticks and mosquitoes. Canines can serve as a bacteremic host to infect fleas under laboratory conditions, yet isolation of R. felis from the blood of a vertebrate host in nature has not been realized. Cofeeding transmission is an efficient mechanism for transmitting rickettsiae between infected and uninfected fleas; however, the mechanism of transmission among different orders and classes of arthropods is not known. The potential for R. felis transmission between infected fleas and tick (Dermacentor variabilis) and mosquito (Anopheles quadrimaculatus) hosts was examined via cofeeding bioassays. Donor cat fleas infected with R. felis transmitted the agent to naïve D. variabilis nymphs via cofeeding on a rat host. Subsequent transstadial transmission of R. felis from the engorged nymphs to the adult ticks was observed with reduced prevalence in adult ticks. Using an artificial host system, An. quadrimaculatus exposed to a R. felis-infected blood meal acquired rickettsiae and maintained infection over 12 days post-exposure (dpe). Similar to ticks, mosquitoes were able to acquire R. felis while cofeeding with infected cat fleas on rats infection persisting in the mosquito for up to 3 dpe. The results indicate R. felis-infected cat fleas can transmit rickettsiae to both ticks and mosquitoes via cofeeding on a vertebrate host, thus providing a potential avenue for the diversity of R. felis-infected arthropods in nature.

The abundance of arthropods and natural enemies on two growth phases of hybrid corn, Solok District, Indonesia

Abstract. Hervani D, Sari SP. 2022. The abundance of arthropods and natural enemies on two growth phases of hybrid corn, Solok District, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 23: 2966-2972. Solok District, West Sumatra, Indonesia is one of Indonesia's hybrid corn production regions. As yet, the study of arthropods is still limited. This study aimed to study the abundance and diversity of arthropods in the hybrid maize agroecosystem in Solok District, West Sumatra. The research was conducted from May to November 2020 in Tanah Garam Sub-district, Solok District. The sampling was carried out four times in two growth phases of hybrid corn: vegetative (the age of 20 and 40 days after planting/DAP) and the generative phase (the age of 60 and 80 DAP). The arthropod collection was conducted using a yellow trap and a modified vacuum technique. The identification process was carried out at the Insect Bioecology Laboratory, Andalas University. The study found two classes of arthropods in a hybrid cornfield in Solok District, namely Arachnida and Insecta. The Shannon-Weiner diversity index value (H') was 1.383, and the evenness index of species (J') was 0.997. A total of 2,927 individual arthropods, 80 families, 8 orders, and 3 classes, were recorded in the hybrid corn ecosystem in Solok District. Insect class (2,866 individuals) dominated the diversity of arthropods, where the majority of the arthropods found belong to groups of natural enemies such as predators and parasitoids. Conservation of natural enemies (predators and parasitoids) is one of the main factors in supporting the success of pests biologically, so the act of identifying natural enemies in an area is very important.

BIODIVERSITE FONCTIONNELLE DE LENTOMOFAUNE DUN PARC COMPAREE A CELLE DUN VERGER DANS LA SOUS STATION DE RECHERCHE AGRONOMIQUE DE FARAKO/FINKOLO (SIKASSO-MALI)

The Arthropods are present everywhere, on all the extent of the terrestrial globe but, their numbers and their species vary according to the ecological conditions. The current study has been conducted in theagronomic research station of Farako/Finkolo in Sikasso, Mali. The goal was to characterize the situation and to identify the main orders of arthropods, then to estimate their dynamics according to the dates of observations. A random collection design was set to collect every two days using traps and divers sexual attractive. Two (02) classes of arthropods of which ten (10) orders of insect and (01) one from arachnidahave been identified. Basically, the number of arthropods collected is very variable. The lowest level of collection has been foundin January while the highest number was collected in December. This study showed that the Dipterahave a preference for grazing, the beetles prefer the orchards whereas the hymenoptera was more frequent in the park of G. septum. Trichoptera, Dermoptera and some Nevroptera have also been identified.

Airborne environmental DNA metabarcoding for the monitoring of terrestrial insects—A proof of concept from the field

AbstractBiodiversity is in decline due to human‐induced pressures on ecosystems around the world. To be able to counteract this alarming trend, it is paramount to closely monitor biodiversity at global scales. Because this is practically impossible with traditional methods, the last decade has seen a strong push for new solutions. In aquatic ecosystems, the monitoring of species from environmental DNA (eDNA) has emerged as one of the most powerful tools at our disposal, but in terrestrial ecosystems, the power of eDNA for monitoring has so far been hampered by the local scale of the samples. In this study, we report the successful detection of insects from airborne eDNA from samples taken in the field. We compare our results to two traditional insect monitoring methods (1) light traps for moth monitoring and (2) transect walks for the monitoring of butterflies and wild bees. Airborne eDNA metabarcoding revealed DNA from six classes of arthropods, and twelve order of insects—including representatives from the four largest orders: Diptera (flies), Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), Coleoptera (beetles), and Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, and ants). We did not detect all species observed using traditional methods and suggest further directions for the development of airborne eDNA metabarcoding. We also recovered DNA from nine species of vertebrates, including frogs, birds, and mammals as well as from 12 other phyla. Airborne eDNA has the potential to become a powerful tool for terrestrial biodiversity monitoring, with many impactful applications including the monitoring of pests, invasive, or endangered species and disease vectors.

A previously unknown feeding mode in millipedes and the convergence of fluid feeding across arthropods.

We report fluid feeding with a sucking pump in the arthropod class Diplopoda, using a combination of synchrotron tomography, histology, electron microscopy, and three-dimensional reconstructions. Within the head of nine species of the enigmatic Colobognatha, we found a pumping chamber, which acts as positive displacement pump and is notably similar to that of insects, showing even fine structural convergences. The sucking pump of these millipedes works together with protractible mouthparts and externally secreted saliva for the acquisition of liquid food. Fluid feeding is one of the great evolutionary innovations of terrestrial arthropods, and our study suggests that it evolved with similar biomechanical solutions convergent across all major arthropod taxa. While fluid-feeding insects are megadiverse today, it remains unclear why other lineages, such as Colobognatha, are comparably species poor.

Impact of ground cover vegetation types on the diversity and similarity of spider assemblage at two adjacent sites

Spider (Arachnida) is one of the classes of arthropods known to give strong responses to differences in land cover vegetation. This study intended to investigate whether the difference of vegetation types that are located adjacently occupied by the same genera of spiders. Two adjacent areas in Liwa Botanical Garden that covered by two different types vegetation were assigned as the sampling sites. The spiders sampling was carried out over a 100 meter long transect line (5 lines each) by applying active searching and pitfall trapping techniques. There were 21 genera from 9 spider families that were collected from two sampling sites. In the land vegetated with wood, there were 12 genera with 129 specimens. In the herbaceous land, there were 13 spider genera with 120 specimens. The Simpson's index of diversity were 0.7739 and 0.8868, meanwhile the Shannon's index were 1.8575and 2.2831, respectively obtained at herbaceous and woody land. The difference of diversity between two compared sites by Hutcheson t-test was highly significant (α < 0.01). This presumption is also supported by the coefficient of dissimilarity calculated using Sorensen’s index formula (Ss = 75.7575). Thus it can be concluded that the different types of land cover vegetation have a significant impact on the diversity of the dwelling spiders even though the two fields are located adjacent to each other.

Divergent nucleic acid allocation in juvenile insects of different metamorphosis modes

Nucleic acids help clarify variation in species richness of insects having different metamorphosis modes, a biological conundrum. Here we analyse nucleic acid contents of 639 specimens of aquatic insects collected from four high mountain streams of Sierra Nevada in southern Spain to test whether the allocation to RNA or DNA content differs during ontogeny between juvenile insects undergoing direct (hemimetabolous) or indirect (holometabolous) metamorphosis. The results show that RNA content as a function of body mass was negatively correlated to insect body length in four out of six and three out of six of the holometabolan and hemimetabolan taxa, respectively. Although no significant differences in RNA content were found between holometabolans and hemimetabolans, the significant interaction between body length and metamorphosis mode for RNA and RNA:DNA indicates a strong ontogenetic component to RNA allocation. In addition, our finding of lower DNA content in holometabolans relative to hemimetabolans agree with the analysis of empirical genome data in aquatic and terrestrial insects, and extend to this class of arthropods the “growth rate-genome size-nutrient limitation” hypothesis that differences in allocation between RNA and DNA may reflect fundamental evolutionary trade-off of life-history strategies associated with high growth rates (and RNA content) in holometabolans at the expense of diminished genome sizes.

Transport pathways of hydrocarbon and free fatty acids to the cuticle in arthropods and hypothetical models in spiders.

Cuticular lipids in terrestrial arthropods are not only essential for desiccation resistance; they also play an important role as chemical signals for intra- and interspecific communication (pheromones and kairomones, respectively). Most of the studies on cuticular lipid research was dedicated to one class of arthropods, the insects. This type of research on the class arachnids is poorly developed, and the majority of studies has listed the compounds present in cuticular extracts, and, in some cases, compared the lipid profiles of different life stages (juveniles, adults). Consequently, we reviewed in relation to lipids description, biosynthesis, and transport of spiders. To illustrate a novel concept of lipid transportation, a scheme is now presented to show the hypothetical transport pathways of hydrocarbon and free fatty acids to cuticle in spiders. These concepts are taken from the knowledge of different arachnids to obtain a general illustration on the biosynthesis and transport of hemolymphatic lipids to the cuticle in spider.

People’s contribution to the knowledge of Pycnogonida: citizen science in the case of a “problematic” taxon.

Pycnogonida is a poorly known class of marine arthropods represented by nearly 1350 species described worldwide. We examined data about these organisms available on seven websites for photographs and information sharing among recreational naturalists. We found 384 observations, mainly with data about locality and date. Photos about 65 of them resulted correctly identified to the species level with certainty. The others refer to species whose identification requires a more in-depth analysis under a microscope. Unfortunately, this problem is common to a high percentage of pycnogonids. Therefore it seems unlikely that citizen scientists could contribute significantly to their knowledge. Nevertheless, for some species this would be possible and data on the presence of the taxon could be useful for more general studies at community level.

Evaluation of different food plants and Feeding Preference of Chrysocoris stolli Wolf (Heteroptera –Pentatomidae –Scutelleridae)

Insecta is the largest class of phylum arthropods and members of this class are characterized by the presence of three pairs of legs; hence, called Hexapods, Besides, these tracheae organisms have usually one or two pairs of wings. Insects always have been associated with mankind in one way or the other as some of them are beneficial other are pests of crops and house hold articles. Chrysocoris stolli Wolf (Heteroptera- Pentatomidae-Scutellerinae): Chrysocoris stolli is a polyphagous phytosuccivorous bug found infesting many foods plants as mentioned in introduction chapter. To know the food preference experiments were conducted in laboratory. For this purpose, adults as well as nymphs were exposed to different parts of each host plants kept in wooden wire gauge cage. This experiment is showed that adults and nymphs fed only on the leaves, seed and inflorescence of food plants. Among a large number of food plants, ten plants were selected to know the preferential feeding of the bug population. The selected plants were Litchi chinensis, Croton bonplandianus, Adhotoda vessica, Croton sparisiflorum, Pannisetium typhoides (Bajra), Brassica compestries, Mangifera indica, Parthenium, Zizyphus mauritiana (Indian jujube), Cassia occidentalies. Then 25 adults and 25 nymphs of C.stolli were released in the cage having food plant parts after two, four and six hours. Then, the number of bugs was counted on each host plant part and noted.

Hierarchical Classification of Very Small Objects: Application to the Detection of Arthropod Species

Automated image analysis and deep learning tools such as object detection models are being used increasingly by biologists. However, biological datasets often have constraints that are challenging for the use of deep learning. Classes are often imbalanced, similar, or too few for robust learning. In this paper we present a robust method relying on hierarchical classification to perform very small object detection. We illustrate our results on a custom dataset featuring 22 classes of arthropods used to study biodiversity. This dataset shows several constraints that are frequent when using deep learning on biological data with a high class imbalance, some classes learned on only a few training examples and a high similarity between classes. We propose to first perform detection at a super-class level, before performing a detailed classification at a class level. We compare the obtained results with our proposed method to a global detector, trained without hierarchical classification. Our method succeeds in obtaining a mAP of 75 %, while the global detector only achieves a mAP of 48 %. Moreover, our method shows high precision even on classes with the less train examples. Confusions between classes with our method are fewer and are of a lesser impact. We are able achieve a more robust object classification with the use of our proposed method. This method can also enable better control on the model’s output which can be particularly valuable when handling ecological, biological or medical data for example.

Surf and turf vision: Patterns and predictors of visual acuity in compound eye evolution

Eyes have the flexibility to evolve to meet the ecological demands of their users. Relative to camera-type eyes, the fundamental limits of optical diffraction in arthropod compound eyes restrict the ability to resolve fine detail (visual acuity) to much lower degrees. We tested the capacity of several ecological factors to predict arthropod visual acuity, while simultaneously controlling for shared phylogenetic history. In this study, we have generated the most comprehensive review of compound eye visual acuity measurements to date, containing 385 species that span six of the major arthropod classes. An arthropod phylogeny, made custom to this database, was used to develop a phylogenetically-corrected generalized least squares (PGLS) linear model to evaluate four ecological factors predicted to underlie compound eye visual acuity: environmental light intensity, foraging strategy (predator vs. non-predator), horizontal structure of the visual scene, and environmental medium (air vs. water). To account for optical constraints on acuity related to animal size, body length was also included, but this did not show a significant effect in any of our models. Rather, the PGLS analysis revealed that the strongest predictors of compound eye acuity are described by a combination of environmental medium, foraging strategy, and environmental light intensity.

Non-target effects of Metarhizium brunneum (BIPESCO 5/F 52) in soil show that this fungus varies between being compatible with, or moderately harmful to, four predatory arthropods

Biological control with entomopathogenic fungi is a feasible option for regulation of pest insect populations. However, possible effects on beneficial arthropods must be considered. We assessed the non-target effects of the microbial biological control agent Metarhizium brunneum (isolate BIPESCO 5/F 52) applied in soil on four different predatory arthropods: the predatory mite Gaeolaelaps aculeifer (Canestrini), the predatory bug Orius majusculus (Reuter), the rove beetle Dalotia coriaria (Kraatz) and the gall midge Aphidoletes aphidimyza Rondani. All are widespread and naturally occurring in Europe, they represent different classes of arthropods and different insect orders; furthermore, their life cycles involve different levels of contact with the soil. Adult G. aculeifer, O. majusculus, and D. coriaria, and last instar A. aphidimyza larvae were exposed to natural soil (control) or natural soil inoculated with M. brunneum at a concentration of 5 × 106 conidia/g of soil; this represents a worst-case scenario. Mortality, longevity, fecundity and Metarhizium outgrowth on dead individuals were assessed for the first three species; for A. aphidimyza, only mortality (non-emergence rate) and fecundity of emerged females were assessed. The fungal treatment resulted in a significantly higher mortality of O. majusculus and D. coriaria, 96%, and 7.3% respectively, compared with 19%, and 2% for their respective controls. Mortality of G. aculeifer was not significantly affected by exposure to the fungus in the soil. Longevity of O. majusculus and D. coriaria was significantly reduced following exposure to the fungus in the soil (log-rank test: p < 0.0001, Wilcoxon test p < 0.0001 and log-rank test: p = 0.029, Wilcoxon test: p = 0.027, respectively), while G. aculeifer longevity was not affected. Fecundity of O. majusculus and D. coriaria was negatively affected following exposure to the fungus in the soil, which reduced their oviposition by 20% and 4%, respectively, compared with the control, while G. aculeifer fecundity was not affected. Aphidoletes aphidimyza larval mortality was higher following exposure to the fungus in the soil (60% dead) than in the control (40% dead) but its fecundity was not statistically significantly affected by treatment. In conclusion, the predatory arthropods studied demonstrated a range of fitness responses to M. brunneum exposure in the soil, from no response (G. aculeifer), to intermediate (D. coriaria and A. aphidimyza) and high response (O. majusculus). This study demonstrates the relevance of using several fitness parameters and different arthropod species to determine whether a biological control agent should be considered a low-risk substance with respect to non-target effects.

POTENTIAL THERAPEUTIC EFFECT OF ZIKA VIRUS IN GLIOBLASTOMA TREATMENT

Since the twentieth century, humanity has been experiencing a public health reality marked by numerous mosquito-borne diseases (belonging to the arthropod class), known as arboviruses. The Zika virus has become in recent years a risk to Brazilian and international public health due to its devastating effect due to its pathogenesis but also to fetal neurological development, causing serious health problems such as microcephaly and Guillain-Barré Syndrome, but also myelitis and meningoencephalitis. However, scientists studying the Zika virus have been trying to use the agent's ability to cause infections in healthy cells to attack and destroy cancer cells, such as the case of grade IV astrocytoma known as Gliobastoma Multiforme (GBM), which is a tumor of the very aggressive central nervous system and worse prognosis among primary cancers. As a result of effective therapy for GBM and the tropism of this etiological agent for brain cells, the hypothesis is that this virus would cause cell death in glioblastomas through metabolic alterations induced by the induced viral infection, but further studies must be carried out to demonstrate this therapeutic advantage in using the virus for the treatment of this malignant disease. Keywords: Zika virus; Gliobastoma Multiforme; Tumor of the Central Nervous System.