Aphalara persicaria Caldwell, 1937 Figures 5K, L, 6I, J, 7C, D, J, 8E, H

Aphalara persicaria Caldwell, 1937: 565; Caldwell (1938a): 237; Hodkinson (1988): 1182; Burckhardt and Lauterer (1997): 305; Halbert and Burckhardt (2020).

Aphalara persicaria var. cubana Caldwell, 1937: 565; Hodkinson (1988): 1182; Burckhardt and Lauterer (1997): 305.

Material examined.

Cuba • ♂ holotype, 1 ♂, 1 ♀ paratypes of Aphalara persicaria var. cubana; Havana; 23.1005, -82.3611; 40 m a.s.l.; Baker leg.; USNM, dry mounted. Mexico • 1 ♀; TLA, Nanacamilpa, San Felipe Hidalgo; 19.4573/4678, -98.5615/5671, 2800-2890 m a.s.l.; 15 Jul. 2015; D. Burckhardt & D.L. Queiroz leg.; Persicaria hydropiperoides; #15-19(1); NMB-PSYLL0004616; NHMB, dry mounted.

Diagnosis.

Adults. General body colour orange to light brown. Forewing with brown apical part of clavus. Head with small anteorbital tubercles; anterior tubercles small, rounded; outer anterior margin strongly concave. Clypeus long, tubular, visible in dorsal view. Forewing 2.5-2.7 × as long as wide; surface spinules fine, forming irregular squares or rhombi; in males often leaving narrow spinule-free stripes along veins (Fig. 5K), in females usually covering the entire wing membrane up to veins (Fig. 5L). Paramere, in lateral view, lamellar, straight, only weakly narrowed in the middle; dorsal margin sclerotised, straight or weakly curved; thumb-like process near antero-apical edge, short, narrow and weakly curved (Fig. 6I). Distal portion of aedeagus with straight shaft and inflated apical third that bears an antero-apical hook of variable length (Fig. 6J). Female proctiger, in lateral view, incised distal to circumanal ring (Fig. 7C), which is strongly expanded caudally (Fig. 7J). Dorsal margin of valvula dorsalis almost straight (Fig. 7D). Fifth instar immatures. Body (Fig. 8E) 1.6-1.7 × as long as wide. Forewing pads narrow, humeral lobes broadly rounded; small lanceolate setae present along margin but not on dorsum. Caudal plate narrowly rounded; lanceolate setae present along margin, approximately as long as distance between them. Outer circumanal ring rounded laterally (Fig. 8H).

Distribution.

Recorded from Cuba, Mexico (Tlaxcala) and the USA (Florida, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, Virginia) (Halbert and Burckhardt 2020).

Host plants, biology and habitats.

Persicaria glabra (Willd.) M. Gómez, P. lapathifolia (L.) Delarbre, P. maculosa Gray, and P. punctata (Elliott) Small ( Polygonaceae). The single female from Mexico was collected on P. hydropiperoides (Michx.) Small, which is a probable host. We collected specimens in Mexico and the USA (Florida, Michigan, Virginia) in wet meadows near ponds or rivers.