Labidura xanthopus (Stal 1855)

Labidura xanthopus (Stål)

Forficula xanthopus Stal, 1855, p. 48 [Brazil].

Labidura livida Dubrony, 1879, p. 93 [Brazil].

Demogorgon batesi (Brazil), D. bicolor [South America], D. adelphus [Brazil]. D. patagonicus (Argentine), Kirby, 1891, pp. 514–515.

Demogorgon longipennis Borelli, 1904, p. 4 [Argentine],

Labidura xanthopus (Ståhl), Burr, 1911b, p. 37.

Labidura brasiliensis Moreira, 1932, p. 16 [Brazil].

This species has not been previously recorded from the West Indies, but forms of Labidura riparia have been noted from the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico. This is the species recorded as Labidura bidens (Olivier) by Rehn and Hebard (1917).

LENGTH.—Body 14–25 mm, forceps 6–9 mm (males), 3.5–5 mm (females). Generally yellowish, variegated with dark brown or blackish, but variable in color. Elytra blackish, sutures and lateral margins broadly yellow, abdomen yellow, with a broad median longitudinal blackish band, the edges of which are irregular. The general color, however, may range from uniformly light yellow or brown to the more strongly marked varieties or forms. Most of the synonymy quoted above concerns color varieties. Elytra often short and wings often not visible, but both elytra and wings may be normally developed. Male forceps with branches well separated at base, trigonal basally and cylindrical distally, almost straight, inner margin of each branch with one tooth (Figure 12); forceps of female with branches contiguous, almost straight, and with the inner margin of each branch dentated for basal half or more.

MATERIAL.—Dominica, Clarke Hall, 8 May 1964, O. S. Flint, Jr., 1 .

WORLD DISTRIBUTION.—Neotropical Region only; previously recorded from Brazil, Argentine, Bolivia, and Surinam.