Genus Vrydahga Vayssière

Vrydagha is an African genus containing a single species, V. lepesmei (Fig. 20) from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (García Morales et al. 2016). In the southern savannas of the country its primary host is Imperata cylindrica (Poaceae) but if crops (e.g. Zea mays, Arachis hypogaea and Gossypium sp.) are grown in contaminated soil or in proximity to I. cylindrica their roots can become infested, in association with ants of the genus Camponotus ( Hymenoptera: Formicidae), and possibly the fungus Corticium vagum Berk. & M.A. Curtis (Fungi: Corticiaceae). The scale can cause considerable damage to cotton, weakening and even killing plants (Vayssière 1957). Adult female characteristics include 10-segmented antennae; abdominal spiracles quite small, numbering 5 pairs; with 3 elongate oval cicatrices; anal tube with internal ring of pores strongly sclerotized; body setae all flagellate, shorter on dorsum than on venter; with a few longer setae present along margin; and multilocular pores all of one type, each with a single central loculus (Vayssière 1957).