Kilifia deltoides De Lotto

Kilifia deltoides De Lotto 1965: 208; Ben Dov 1979: 319.

Material examined: INDIA, Karnataka, Ponnampet, College of Forestry, N 12.1490°, E 75.9405°, on Psydrax dicoccos Gaertn. (Rubiaceae), 13.x.2020, Angalakuditi Sandeep and Vinodkumar Dubey coll., 10 ♀♀.

Appearance in life (Fig. 1b): Adult female pale green, marginal and submarginal areas completely transparent, medial area opaque yellow, flat, anterior pointed, broadly rounded behind, broadest near anal plates; eyes black, prominent; anal plates yellowish brown; anal cleft and stigmatic clefts conspicuous, whitish yellow.

Diagnosis of slide-mounted adult female (n=10): Body usually pyriform in outline (Fig.3q), often asymmetrical; stigmatic clefts shallow; anal cleft deep, about 1/4 th body length. Marginal setae strongly spinose, with a broadly branched apex (Fig. 3a) and a broad basal socket. Stigmatic clefts shallow, each containing 3 setae, all blunt; median seta slightly curved, with basal socket similar to a marginal seta, lateral setae very short and straight (Fig. 3b) with a narrow basal socket. Anal cleft with sides adpressed but not fused. Dorsal setae each clavate (Fig. 3c) with a broad basal socket, arranged in a polygonal pattern.

Dorsum: Pores oval, rimmed with a slit-like opening (Fig. 3d). Preopercular pores each small and flat, circular to oval, with a granulate surface (Fig. 3e), present in an elongate group anterior to anal plates, each pore associated with a pale areolation. Tubular ducts absent. Submarginal tubercles each convex and simple, present in a submarginal row (Fig. 3f). Anal plates together kite shaped (Fig. 3g) with anterolateral margin around 1.6 times longer than posterolateral margin. Dorsal surface of anal plates with 3 or 4 small apical or subapical setae (Fig. 3h).

Venter: Ano-genital fold with 2 pairs of setae along anterior margin (Fig. 3i) and 3 pairs of short setae laterally (Fig. 3j). Multilocular pores mostly each with 5, 6 or 7 loculi (Fig. 3k), present in small groups on either side and around anterior margin of genital opening. Spiracular disc pores each with 5 loculi (Fig. 3l). Legs distinctive; meso-and metathoracic leg coxae enlarged, each with an anterolateral cavity (Fig. 3m); claw digitules both broad and noticeably shorter than tarsal digitules (Fig. 3n). Antennae each with 6 segments (Fig. 3o). Labium surrounded by a group of ventral microducts on area around labium (Fig. 3p).

Comparison: Ben-Dov (1979) provided a detailed description and illustration of K. deltoides . His description states that the species possesses 30–36 preopercular pores, whereas the specimens examined in this study possessed 15–26 preopercular pores. Similarly, the illustration by Ben-Dov indicates the presence of 5 dorsal submarginal tubercles on each side (though not mentioned in the description), but the specimens examined by us had 8 or 9 dorsal submarginal tubercles on each side (total 17 or 18). Previous to this study, only K. acuminata (Signoret) had been reported from India (Joshi & Rameshkumar 2017). Kilifia acuminata can be easily separated from K. deltoides by the presence of (characters of K. deltoides given in the parentheses) (i) Legs without any tibio-tarsal spurs (each middle and hind leg with a membranous tibio-tarsal spur), (ii) the pore rim about half as wide as the socket of a dorsal seta (equal to diameter of socket).

Ecological notes: Kilifia deltoides has so far been recorded on species belonging to five plant families: Anacardiaceae, Lauraceae, Myrtaceae, Pteridaceae and Theaceae . In this study it was found for the first time on Rubiaceae, on P. dicoccos . This is an evergreen tree classified as “Vulnerable” in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN 2021), so our record of K. deltoides in India should be considered important as a possible threat to this endangered plant.