Perlesta, Banks, 1906

Grubbs, Scott A., 2018, An Update On The Stonefly Fauna (Insecta, Plecoptera) Of Maryland, Including New And Emended State Records And An Updated State Checklist, Illiesia 14 (4), pp. 65-80 : 67

Perlesta MD-5

( Figs. 1–6 , 21 )

Female. Forewing length 9.5–11.0 mm (n = 3). Head light pale yellow with a golden brown intraocellar patch that is slightly open anteriorly, plus a light golden-brown triangular patch anterior to the anterior ocellus; m-line indistinguishable ( Figs. 1– 2 ). Pronotum light golden brown with no medial stripe ( Figs. 1–2 ). Subgenital plate ca. ½ width of 8 th abdominal sternum, lacking pigmentation. Lobes distinct, rounded laterally, bordered by a v-shaped notch.

Egg. Oval ( Fig. 3 ). Collar small and straight-sided, raised about chorionic surface, flange lacking ( Figs. 4–5 ); chorion covered by a patchwork of amoeboidlike polygons ( Figs. 4, 6 ); micropyles present in anterior ¼ ( Fig. 6 ).

Material examined. USA, Maryland, Allegany Co., Sideling Hill Creek, near Bellegrove , at light, 39.70443, -78.32840, 3 August 1996, S.A. Grubbs, 2♀ ( WKUC); same but 14 July 1998, S.A. Grubbs, ♀ ( WKUC) .

Remarks. The eggs appear different from all other species of eastern Nearctic Perlesta . A brief description was provided here in hope that females can be associated with males at some point in the future. These eggs may pertain to one of three Perlesta species whose eggs are unknown and found along the Atlantic Coastal Plain region of Virginia and North Carolina: P. beatyi Kondratieff, Zuellig & Lenat, 2011 , P. bjostadi Kondratieff & Kirchner, 2006 , and P. durfeei Kondratieff, Zuellig & Kirchner, 2008 . The egg of P. leathermani Kondratieff & Zuellig, 2006 also has a small, “button- like” collar (their Fig. 8 .). The light head pigmentation of MD-5 ( Figs. 1–2 ), however, appears different from the darker P. leathermani (Kondratieff et al. 2006, their Fig. 1 ).

Figures

Figs. 1–6. Perlesta sp. MD-5, Maryland, Sideling Hill Creek. 1–2, female, head + pronotum, dorsal profile; 3, entire egg, 300X; 4, egg, posterior pole, 500X; 5, egg, posterior pole and collar, 2300X; 6, egg, anterior pole and micropyles, 600X.

Figs. 20–22. Distribution maps of five Perlesta species in western Maryland, USA, based on material examined during this study. 20, P. ephelida; 21, P. nelsoni, P. placida, and P. MD sp. 5; 22, P. teaysia. MD = Maryland, VA = Virginia, WV = West Virginia.

Figs. 7–12. Perlesta mihucorum, male, Maryland, Conococheague Creek; 7, head + pronotum, dorsal profile; 8, paraprocts, lateral view, 250X; 9, paraprocts, dorsal view, 300X; 10, paraprocts, caudal view, 230X; 11, aedeagus, dorsolateral view, 250X; 12, aedeagus, dorsal view, 250X.