Oligotoma saundersii ( Westwood 1837 )

Lucañas, Cristian C. & Lit, Ireneo L., 2018, Oligotomidae (Insecta: Embioptera) of Mt. Makiling, Los Baños, Philippines, with description of a new species, Zootaxa 4415 (1), pp. 173-182 : 179-180

Species Oligotoma saundersii ( Westwood 1837)

Fig. 4

Embia (Oligotoma) saundersii Westwood 1837: 373 (Holotype: East India, Oxford University Museum of Natural University ).

Embia latreillii Rambur 1842: 312 .

Oligotoma latreillei (Rambur) Enderlein 1910: 56 ; Mukerji 1935: 8; Menon and George 1936:90; Davis 1939: 183.

Oligotoma insularis M’Lachlan 1883: 227 ; Davis 1939: 183.

Oligotoma cubana Hagen 1885: 141 ; Davis 1939: 183.

Embia hova Saussure 1896: 354 .

Oligotoma hova (Saussure) Krauss 1911: 38 .

Embia bramina Sassure 1896: 352 .

Oligotoma bramina (Saussure) Krauss 1911: 37 ; Davis 1939: 184.

Oligotoma rochai Navas 1917: 28 ; Krauss 1917: 316.

Oligotoma inaequalis Banks 1924: 421 ; Davis 1939: 184.

Oligotoma saundersi (Westwood) : Burmeister 1839: 770; Davis 1939: 181. Davis 1942: 119; Ross 1940: 668; Ross 1944: 495; Bradoo 1971: 264; Ross 1984: 48; Ross 2006: 344; Poolprasert 2012: 411; Chandra and Dawn 2014: 1565.

Material examined. 3 males, 3 females, Philippines: Luzon, Los Baños, Laguna, on Pterocarpus indicus Willd. , 27-vi-2014 (C. C. Lucañas UPLBMNH EMB-00011 ♂); on Cassia fistula L., 25- vi-2014 (C. C. Lucañas UPLBMNH EMB-00012 ♂ - 13♀); on Araucaria heterophylla (Salisb.) Franco , 25-vi-2014 (C. C. Lucañas UPLBMNH EMB-00014 ♀); on Vitex parviflora Juss. , 25-vi-2014 (C. C. Lucañas UPLBMNH EMB-00015 ♂ - 16♀)

Distribution. Cosmopolitan.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from males of other species by the sickle-shaped LPPT.

Description. Size (mm): ♂: BL: 7.7 ± 0.26; HL× HW: 1.2 ± 0.12 × 0.9 ± 0.06; OR: 0.40 ± 0.01; FW: 5.6 ± 0.46; HW: 4.3 ± 0.23. ♀: BL: 8.9 ± 0.5; HL × HW: 1.3 ± 0.06 × 1.1 ± 0.17.

Alate male ( Fig. 4A ) generally dark brown-black. Head dark brown. Eyes medium-sized, slightly protruding beyond head capsule. Antennae filiform, covered with setae. Submentum trapezoidal, anterior margin convex, edges slightly rounded ( Fig. 4C ). Terminalia ( Figure 4 E-F): LCB projecting as a narrow rounded lobe and surrounding base of LC. 10LP tapering, basally constricted, medially broad. 10RP narrow, elongate, distally truncate. H broad basally, narrowing to a slightly recurved HP. LPPT sickle-shaped.

Female ( Fig. 4B ) generally black. Hind basitarsus with single papilla. Sternite 8 with two oblique caudally converging lines ( Fig. 4G ). Sternite 9 with small unpigmented inverted triangle ( Fig. 4G ).

Remarks: Like O. humbertiana , O. saundersii has been anthropogenically introduced to numerous countries ( Ross 1955). Ross (1984) stated that O. saundersii is the most widespread webspinner and may be found in all warm regions, especially near urban areas.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Oligotoma saundersii (Westwood 1837): habit of (A) male and (B) female; (C) male head with submentum; (D) male hind basitarsus; male terminalia, (E) dorsal and (F)ventral, (G) female abdominal sternites 9‒11.