Sweltsa urticae
Creators: name: Stark, Bill P.
name: Kondratieff, Boris C.
name: Kirchner, Ralph F.
name: Stewart, Kenneth W.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2011
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Plecoptera
Chloroperlidae
Sweltsa
Sweltsa urticae

description: <i>Sweltsa urticae</i> (Ricker) (Figs. 36-40) <i>Alloperla</i> (<i>Sweltsa</i>) <i>urticae</i> Ricker, 1952:185. Holotype &amp;male; (Illinois Natural History Survey), North Carolina, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Wild Cherry Branch <b>Material examined. VIRGINIA: Smyth Co.: headwaters of Big Branch, Whitetop, Rt 600, 28 May 1983, B.C. Kondratieff, 4&amp;male;, 1&amp;female;, 3 pharate larvae (CSU)</b>. <b>Mature larva.</b> Body length 7.0- 7.5 mm. General color pale brown without distinctive pattern except for pale median ocellar spot due to underlying features of pharate adult. Pronotum bearing ca. 14 anterolateral setae near margin and ca. 18 posterolateral setae (Fig. 36); posterolateral setal row extends to median suture. Mesonotum bearing ca. 12 long outer marginal setae and shorter marginal setae basally and near wingpad apex (Fig. 37); mesonotal surface with few intercalaries. Metanotum with numerous intercalary setae and a mixture of long and short outer marginal setae; several inner marginal setae occur on both meso and metanota. Fore femora with sparse fringe setae and a few long and short thick setae near dorsal margin (Fig. 38); ventral margin with few thick setae. Fore tibiae with sparse outer fringe made up of hairs much shorter than the three long, thick outer setae; inner margin with ca. five short thick setae. Abdominal tergum 8 with posterior fringe widely spaced mesally; lateral intercalary cluster includes ca. 18 setae (Fig. 39). Cerci with ca. 15 segments; long dorsal setae much more prominent than longest ventral setae through segment 10; longest setae only slightly longer than segment (Fig. 40). <b>Comments.</b> <i>Sweltsa urticae</i> is a southern Appalachian species recorded from higher elevation rheocrenes and streams of southwestern North Carolina into the Great Smoky Mountains and north to the Mount Rogers area in southwestern Virginia (Surdick 2004). It is sympatric with <i>S. lateralis</i> and <i>S. mediana</i> but is more closely related to <i>S. holstonensis</i> and <i>S. voshelli</i> in epiproct structure than to other members of the genus (Surdick 2004). Unfortunately, no larval material for either of these latter species is available. Mature larvae of <i>S. urticae</i> can usually be recognized by the combination of short tibial fine fringe setae (Fig. 34), metanotal wingpads with at least 10 intercalary setae (Fig. 32), and tergum 10 bearing about 10- 12 intercalary setae in lateral clusters (Fig. 33). Larvae of the species are more similar to those of <i>S. pocahontas</i> than to other known eastern species, but the two appear distinct on the basis of number of intercalary setae on tergum 10 and in geographical distribution.
description: Published as part of <i>Stark, Bill P., Kondratieff, Boris C., Kirchner, Ralph F. &amp; Stewart, Kenneth W., 2011, Larvae Of Eight Eastern North American Sweltsa (Plecoptera: Chloroperlidae), pp. 51-64 in Illiesia 7 (4)</i> on pages 62-63, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.4760403
description: {"references": ["Ricker, W. E. 1952. Systematic studies in Plecoptera. Indiana University Publications, Science Series No. 18. Indiana University Press, Bloomington, Indiana. 200 pp.", "Surdick, R. F. 2004. Chloroperlidae (The Sallflies). Pp. 1 - 60 in Stark, B. P. &amp; B. J. Armitage [editors]. Stoneflies (Plecoptera) of eastern North America. Volume II. Chloroperlidae, Perlidae, and Perlodidae (Perlodinae). Bulletin of the Ohio Biological Survey, New Series, Volume 14. Ohio Biological Survey, Columbus, Ohio. 192 pp."]}