ROMSO Cyprus Knowledge Base

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The Yellow Earworm (Forficula lurida) is a species of insect-bearing earworms that spread from Greece to the Middle East.

Features
The body length, including the pliers, is 14-19 mm. The head is coloured dark orange to dark red brown. The antennas, legs, side edges of the pronotum, the elytres, hind wings and the inner area of the cercibases are yellowish. The abdomen and the middle area of the pronotum are dark brownish black to reddish black. The male forceps have a broad base with teeth. However, the base does not end with a prominent tooth. The base occupies about a third to half the length of the pliers. The apical part of the pliers is strongly curved. In the male penis, the virga within the penile lobes is short. In females, the pygidium is clearly recognizable in contrast to the males. Their pincers are straight and untoothed.

Nymphs
The nymphs are uniformly colored yellowish brown to grey brown, in the fourth nymph stage they are darker, especially the abdomen. The legs are one-colored dark yellowish, as are the pincers. The outer edge has a slight edge that reaches almost to the top. Thus, the pliers appear dorsally triangular. The outsides are centrally provided with individual short bristles up to the tips. The Pygidium is simply wide rounded. In the last stage, the wing attachments (alae) dorsal are clearly visible.

L1 nymphs are approximately 5 mm long with forceps and have 8 antenna members. The legs are monochrome gray, joints and feet slightly darker. The pliers have a slightly lowered outer edge. The pliers are simply elongated, converging towards the base to approximately the center, then again simply straight and equipped with individual bristles. L2 nymphs are about 7–9 mm long with forceps and have 10 antenna members. With them, the head is darker, the legs are monochrome gray, but the joints and tarses are a little darker. The mesonotum is simple, the pygidium just round. The pliers are slightly triangular, simply elongated and are provided with individual bristles on the sides. L3 nymphs are about 10–11 mm long with forceps and have 11 antenna members. The head is darker and wider than the pronotum, the legs are monochrome gray, the mesonotum well formed, centrally darker and bulged. The metanotum is also centrally darker and the wing attachments (alae) are indicated visible, but their wheeling is not yet visible. The Pygidium is wide, the trailing edge just with slight tips on the side edges. The pliers are slightly triangularly slender and long, slightly wider at the base and slightly inclined towards the tips. L4 nymphs are approximately 11–12 mm long with forceps and have 12 antenna members. Her head is brownish dark, Pronotum, Mesonotum and Metanotum are centrally dark and provided with a broad yellowish border. The abdomen is dark brown, the forceps pale yellowish. DD