Sweltsa hoffmani Kondratieff & Kirchner, 2009

Grubbs, Scott A., 2011, A Review Of Stonefly (Insecta; Plecoptera) Taxonomic Research In Alabama, With New State Records And An Updated Checklist, Illiesia 7 (2), pp. 24-30 : 26

Sweltsa hoffmani Kondratieff & Kirchner

Grubbs & Sheldon (2008) provided the first confirmed Alabama state record of Sweltsa onkos (Ricker) from Talladega National Forest. Kondratieff & Kirchner (2009) has since partitioned this species into a northern and eastern form ( S. onkos ) known from Atlantic Canada south to Virginia and recentlydescribed second species ( S. hoffmani ) distributed from western New York south to eastern Tennessee. This specimen has since been reexamined and determined as S. hoffmani . The prior Alabama records ( James 1972, Stark & Harris 1986, Surdick 2004) for Sweltsa (as S. mediana (Banks)) were based on females, yet are likely S. hoffmani . Females of S. hoffmani , S. mediana , and S. onkos are very difficult to distinguish and the distribution of S. mediana is in the southern Appalachian Mountains only from southwestern Virginia south to northwestern South Carolina. In addition, a second state record of S. hoffmani is now confirmed from the far northwestern portion of the state.

Material examined. U.S.A., Alabama, Cleburne Co., small stream draining Dugger Mountain, Talladega National Forest , 22 May 2006, A.L. Sheldon, 1♂ (WKU); Colbert Co. , tributary to Ross Branch, CR 1, 6 km SE Waterloo, 4 May 2008, S.A. Grubbs, 1♂ (WKU) .