Phyllocnistis hyperpersea Davis & Wagner

Adult (Fig. 2A): Length of forewing: 1.9-2.2 mm. Head: Frons shiny white, smooth glabrous, with subtle faint orange tints over vertex. Flagellomeres with orange-fuscous luster above. Labial palpus white, reduced, length less than height of eye. Thorax: Patagia and tegulae with silvery stramineous to orange tints. Forewing with longitudinal fascia usually ending before joining transverse fascia, thinly edged with black scales above and below except distad. Transverse fascia usually complete, leaving costal margin at 45° angle; usually more thickly edged with black scales along proximal side; distal side somewhat rounded with black, edge-scaling weakened medially. Second costal fascia poorly differentiated, not fusing with transverse fascia. Apical spot of black scales well developed. Costal and apical strigulae modestly differentiated, often only two of latter evident. Black fringe scales about tornus only modestly differentiated: few in number, not strongly raised, and not appreciably broadened. Dorsal and outer surfaces of foretibiae and foretarsi, and to lesser extent those of mesothoracic legs, with fuscous metallic orange; third tarsomere of hindleg often darkened; otherwise legs mostly silvery white and unmarked. Abdomen: Silvery white and unmarked. Male Genitalia (Figs 16A-C): Uncus absent. Tegumen complex, consisting of narrow, sclerotized dorsal arch, continuing caudally as far as apex of valva as an elongate, mostly membranous, basally spinose cylinder which encloses anal tube. Vinculum well developed, ~ 0.5? length of valva, U- to V-shaped with relatively narrow anterior end. Valva simple, relatively long, ~ 2.0? length of vinculum, very slender and straight; broad at extreme base, then narrowing along middle, becoming slightly broader over apical third; apex of valva evenly rounded; basal apodeme of valva directed mesad at nearly right angle to valva. Transtilla arising from mesal base of valva as an elongate, acute process, and continuing mesally to articulate at midline with process from opposite valva. Aedeagus slender, weakly sclerotized, externally finely wrinkled cylinder ~ half length of valva; cornuti absent; phallobase greatly extended as membranous tube ~ 6? length of aedeagus; terminal hood of phallobase abruptly inflated and curved at ~ right angle to phallobase. Female Genitalia (Figs 16D-E): Oviscapt greatly reduced; anterior and posterior apophyses of about equal lengths, very short, ~ 0.4? length of papillae anales. Ostium bursae opening in membrane between sterna 7 and 8; ductus bursae completely membranous, slender, moderately long, ~ 2.7? length of papillae anales and terminating near caudal third of corpus bursae; corpus bursae greatly enlarged, ~ 1.5? length of ductus bursae; walls of corpus bursae membranous except for pair of approximately identical, fusiform signa, with each bearing single inward-projecting, acute, blade-like process; length of process ~ 0. 2? length of signum; ductus seminalis extremely slender, elongate, ~ 1.3? length of corpus bursae, arising from cephalic end of corpus bursae. Larva: Sapfeeding instar (Fig. 5A): Similar to P. subpersea except: length of largest larva examined ~ 4.4 mm; labrum well developed, with lateral margins evenly rounded, not produced caudally as in subpersea; caudal processes of last (9+10th) abdominal segment ~ half length of entire segment. Last instar larva not examined, but probably similar to that of P. subpersea. Larval Mine (Fig. 3A): A long, slender, serpentine gallery, with a relatively broad, dark brownish, median frass trail, almost always located on the upper (adaxial) side of the leaf (only 1 under (abaxial) side mine found). The egg is deposited on the upper leaf surface away from the midrib. Mine begins on one side of the blade, but after much of one side is consumed, crosses over near the leaf apex to the other side. The median frass line is unusually broad for a species of Phyllocnistis, resembling more that of the Chilean genus Prophyllocnistis (Davis 1994). As previously noted (Davis 1994), the mines of hyperpersea are also similar in general morphology to early Cenomanian phyllocnistine leafmines (Labandeira et al. 1994). Pupation occurs in the lamina, away from the leaf edge (~ 5-7 mm in diameter) in a circular nidus, similar to that fashioned by Prophyllocnistis. The serpentine portion of the mine begins as a narrow tract ~ 0.3 mm wide and gradually enlarges before the pupation chamber to a width of ~ 2-2.5 mm. The median frass line is ? of the mine width in the early instars and gradually broadens to more than half the mine width. Pupa (Figs 6A-7D): Length of largest pupa 2.8 mm, maximum diameter 0.7 mm. Vertex with relatively large, broadly triangular, acute frontal process (cocoon-cutter) similar to that of Metriochroa psychotriella Busck, but with base constricted slightly on each side (Fig. 6A); lower frons with 2 pairs of short frontal setae. Antenna long and straight, extending almost to 7th abdominal segment (A7); forewing extending almost to A6. Abdominal setae generally short except for greatly lengthened SD1 on A2-7; apex of SD1 on A2-7 slightly enlarged, but not spatulate; abdomen with 6 mid-dorsal pairs of spine clusters (Figs 6C-D) beginning near anterior margins of terga 2-7; each cluster with series of similar, low, strongly recurved spines arranged in 4 irregular columns of about 4-6 ranks; pair of much larger, strongly recurved spines immediately lateral to central cluster and adjacent to seta D1 on A4-7; sternum A6 with spinules evenly scattered over surface (Fig. 6F); A10 with pair of relatively large, stout, caudal projections arising laterally and directed ventrally (Figs 7A-D).

Distribution: This species has been found from Nansemond and Virginia Beach Counties, Virginia, USA, south along the lowland Atlantic coastal region to the Florida Everglades. Adults in the collections of the USNM, from avocado, some with associated mines and collected at various localities in Honduras, may also represent this species. No pupae were available for study and attempts to barcode two specimens were unsuccessful. Mines with associated pupae of what appear to be hyperpersea have also been intercepted on shipments of avocado within the United States from unspecified localities in Mexico. Some fluctuation in the northern limits of this leafminer may have occurred in recent years. As late as June 8–11, 1974, DRD and Mignon Davis found mines of P. hypersersea common on leaves of Persea borbonia within First Landing State Park and Dismal Swamp, Virginia. On March 14, 1992 and during August 1993 no mines could be found at First Landing State Park (Dismal Swamp was not visited in 1993). These localities have not been surveyed for leafminers since 1993.