Waxiella gwaai (Hodgson)

Hodgson, Chris J. & Peronti, Ana L. B. G., 2012, 3372, Zootaxa 3372, pp. 1-265 : 213-215

Waxiella gwaai (Hodgson)

( Fig. 96; Map fig. 105)

Garcardia gwaai Hodgson, 1969a: 28 .

Waxiella gwaai (Hodgson) ; Ben-Dov, 1986: 166.

Material examined: Holotype ♀: Zimbabwe [Southern Rhodesia], on main road between Bulawayo and Victoria Falls, nr. turn off to Wankie Game reserve, 3.ix.1967, on stem of Baphia massaiensis subsp. obovata (Fabaceae) , C.J. Hodgson #994 ( BMNH): 1/1 (good).

Unmounted material. “The wax covering the adult female was very white and soft, and the outside was cracked and dried out, possibly due to the high temperatures in the area. At the points where the stigmatic bands reached the margin, the edges were expanded into a finger of wax standing out from the margin. The insect, once the waxy test was removed, was flattish, flesh coloured, almost round, with a distinctive mid-dorsal ridge, and with a cephalic and three lateral processes. The caudal process was rather small for the insect’s size, and was directed upwards at an angle of about 45 degrees. With the waxy test, the specimen was 12 mm long, 10 mm wide, and 7 mm high” ( Hodgson, 1969a: 28).

Mounted material. Body almost round, quite convex, with distinct, shallow, stigmatic clefts; dorsum with small tubercles. Stigmatic setae of 2 types; conical setae in a roundly oval group surrounded by a fairly wide area of sclerotisation. Caudal process short and stout, about 0.7 mm long (but broken), 0.93 mm wide. Body length 5 mm, width 4.5 mm.

Dorsum. Derm entirely membranous except for heavily sclerotised caudal process plus large, roundly oval sclerotised areas associated with each group of stigmatic setae. Derm with 8 clear areas, anterior and lateral areas with occasional dorsal setae. Dorsal setae each quite long and sharply spinose, with more or less parallel sides towards base; each 7–10 µm long; basal socket width 4–5 µm; present sparsely throughout except mainly absent in clear areas. Dorsal pores: perhaps only loculate microducts of complex type present, rather small, with 1–3 satellite loculi; those with 1 loculus mainly along margin; those with 2 & 3 satellite loculi most abundant, each about 4–5 µm wide; long inner filament not detected; sparse, fairly evenly distributed throughout apart from clear areas; pores too sparse to detect wax-plate lines; simple microducts not detected. Preopercular pores present in a transverse band of perhaps 18. Anal plates each with 3 pairs of setal sockets of dorsal setae, all setae missing; length of each plate 115 µm, width of both plates 130 µm to lateral corners of each plate.

Margin. Marginal setae rather spinose, each 14–18 µm long; abundant, 42 along anterior margin between eyespots, in places 2 wide, with (on each side) 3 between eyespots and anterior cleft, 5 between clefts, and very few along margin of abdomen; number of setae on anal lobes unknown. Stigmatic clefts shallow, each with 2 types of stigmatic setae: (a) sharply-pointed spinose setae each 15–18 µm long, several slightly curved; in a narrow group of 17–21 on ventral surface associated with spiracular disc-pores; and (b) roundly conical setae, in large, rather oval groups of 75–78 in each anterior cleft and 81–83 in each posterior cleft; each group with 3 or 4 conical setae along basal margin, 24–30 conical setae around dorsal margin of group and 8–10 setae across widest part; each group surrounded by a sclerotised area of derm about twice width of group of conical setae; conical setae mainly subequal in size, each 8–10 µm long and 8–10 µm wide, but occasionally with 1 slightly larger medially. Eyespots each about 30 µm wide.

Venter. Derm entirely membranous. Pregenital disc-pores abundant around genital opening (segment VII) and across preceding 2 segments; also with 3 medially on IV and 1 medially on III; absent on II and more anteriorly. Spiracular disc-pores in very narrow bands of 50–60, each band with about one-third of pores near cleft, where band widest; with no disc-pores extending medially past peritremes. Ventral microducts absent from abdominal segments posterior to segment IV inclusive. Ventral tubular ducts entirely absent. Submarginal setae few, each about 11–16 µm long.

Antennae each with 7 distinct segments; total length 280–295 µm. Clypeolabral shield about 215 µm long. Spiracles: width of peritremes 65–75 µm. Legs well developed, each with a strong tibio-tarsal articulatory sclerosis; claw denticles obscure or absent; claw digitules both very broad and slightly shorter than tarsal digitules; dimensions of metathoracic legs (µm): coxa 112–115; trochanter + femur 150; tibia 100–107; tarsus 75–78, and claw 23–25.

Discussion. W. gwaai would appear to belong to the C. africana -group of Waxiella in having: (i) sharplyspinose dorsal setae; (ii) large groups of conical stigmatic setae, and (iii) each stigmatic cleft becoming sclerotised at maturity. It differs from all others in this species-group in the complete absence of ventral tubular ducts.

W. gwaai has only been collected once, in Zimbabwe on Baphia massaiensis subsp. obovata (Fabaceae) .