Neoasterophora megasilvestrensis n. gen., n. sp. (Apicomplexa: Eugregarinida: Actinocephalidae: Pileocephalinae) Parasitizing Cheumatopsyche analis (Trichoptera: Hydropsychidae) in the Texas Big Thicket

Neoasterophora megasilvestrensis n. gen., n. sp. (Apicomplexa: Eugregarinida: Actinocephalidae: Pileocephalinae) is described from the larvae of the little sister sedge caddisfly, Chenmatopsyche analis (Trichoptera: Hydropsychidae) collected from Harmon Creek, Sam Houston State University Center for Biological Field Studies, Walker County, Texas, U.S.A. Neoasterophora is distinguished from known genera of Pileocephalinae by distinct fusiform oocysts lacking polar plugs, an epimerite in the form of an apical ovoidal tumidus, and a diamerite with a milled toroidal disk. This is the first description or report of a septate gregarine infecting larval Trichoptera from the New World.