Perlesta bjostadi, Kondratieff & Zuellig & Kirchner & Lenat, 2006

Kondratieff, Boris C., Zuellig, Robert E., Kirchner, Ralph F. & Lenat, David R., 2006, Three New Species Of Perlesta (Plecoptera: Perlidae) From Eastern North America And Notes On New State Records, Illiesia 2 (5), pp. 31-38 : 35

Perlesta bjostadi , sp. n.

Kondratieff and Lenat ( Figs. 9-15 ).

Material examined. Holotype: ♂ and 5 ♂, 19 ♀ paratypes, North Carolina: Harnett / Cumberland County, Little River , Hwy 401, South of Lillington, N 35°15’44”, W 078°46’38”, 18 May 2004, B. Kondratieff, R. Kirchner, R.E. Zuellig, and D. Lenat.

The holotype is deposited at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Paratypes are deposited in the following museums and individual collections: Bill P. Stark, Clinton, Mississippi ( BPSC); and the C.P. Gillette Museum of Arthropod Diversity, Colorado State University ( CSUC).

Male. Forewing length 8 - 9 mm. General body color light yellow brown. Head yellow except for brown quadrangular area over ocelli, and small brown triangular area forward of median ocellus, prothorax brown ( Fig. 9 ). Wings light amber, veins brown. Femora dusky brown dorsally. Tergum 10 mesal sclerite light brown, not divided, sensilla basiconica sparse to absent ( Fig. 10 ). Paraproct short, stout, broad at base, without a developed tooth, with a distinct apical carina ( Fig. 11-12 ), in caudal view, short and rounded apically ( Fig. 13 ). Penis tube + sac long, caecum prominent, as long as wide, lateral sclerite weakly developed, dorsal patch narrow; small nipple at the base of sac ( Fig. 14 ).

Female. Forewing length 9 -11 mm. Subgenital plate with short broad rounded lobes separated by shallow triangular notch ( Fig. 15 ).

Egg. Unknown.

Larva. Unknown.

Diagnosis. In Stark (2004) male specimens of P. bjostadi will key to couplet 16 which ends in P. golconda DeWalt and Stark and P. lagoi Stark , however, the unique paraprocts of P. bjostadi , lacking a prominent subapical or anteapical tooth will easily distinguish it from these two species. The adeagus of P. bjostadi is similar to P. golconda , both species having a small nipple at the base of the sac ( Fig. 14 ). Unfortunately, no eggs were available for study.

Remarks. This downstream portion of the Lower Little River is also in Cape Fear subbasin 14 (http://www.esb.enr.state.nc.us/bar.html) and located in the Sandhills ecoregion (Griffith et al. 2004, Kondratieff et al. 2005). There is no water chemistry data collected at the Hwy 410 site, but there is a NC monitoring station at Hwy 210, about 24 km upstream. Relative to the Morrison Bridge site (discussed under P. leathermani section), this part of the river is much larger (mean width 25-30 m) with slightly higher pH (median = 6.3), higher specific conductance (median = 47 umhos/cm) and higher nutrient values (NCDENR 2004). Both the higher nutrients and reduced shading produce prolific periphyton growths during the summer, although this site has consistently been rated as Excellent by NCDENR based on the macroinvertebrate community. Like the Morrison Bridge site, the Hwy 410 site has a sand and gravel substrate with humiccolored water. While collecting P. bjostadi specimens, the authors also collected males and females of P. puttmanni Kondratieff and Kirchner (6 ♂, 3 ♀) a new state record for NC (Kondratieff et al. 1995). Additionally, A. abnormis , Helopicus bogaloosa Stark and Ray , P. ephyre , P. zwicki , N. clymene , Paragnetina fumosa (Banks) , and A. lenati were collected concurrently.

Etymology. We honor Dr. Louis Bjostad, Professor of Entomology. Colorado State University. Lou is a devoted colleague and a remarkable scientist.

Figures

Figs. 9-15. Perlesta bjostadi. 9, Adult head and pronotum. 10, Male terminalia, dorsal. 11, Paraproct, lateral. 12, Paraproct tip, lateral. 13, Paraproct caudal, 14, Penis, 15, Subgenital plate, ventral.