Ripiphorus simplex Champion 1891

Rhipiphorus simplex (Champion)
1 891. Rhipidophorus simplex Champion, Biol. Cent. -Am., Col., IV, pt. 2, p. 263.
This species may be distinguished from Rh. mutchleri by its brown pygidium and brown patches on the last tergite. In Rh. mutchleri the pygidium is in great part yellow, and the first tergites are with brown spots, the latter being entirely yellow.
Head and prothorax black, abdomen reddish-yellow, pygidium, entire 6th tergite and small patches on other tergites brownish; elytra yellow with extreme base and small patch at apex brownish-yellow, femora, tips of middle and hind tibia dark brown, apical half of front femora and tibia with basal halves of middle and hind tibia and tarsi yellowish, antennae yellowish-brown. Wings hyaline-yellow, subcosta brown-black, with smoky area at its end. Vertex very slightly elevated, its anterior face distinctly excavated, frons very finely punctured and pubescent. Antennae 10-segmented, shorter than head and twisted, rami short and subequal in length. Pronotum finely pubescent, with a median line at its anterior half, and one oblique glabrous area on either side of disc near the middle, and one on either side of disc near the base; the distance between the two posterior areas slightly smaller than that between the anterior ones. Elytra finely punctate, their apices shining. Thorax beneath finely and densely pubescent, abdomen more sparsely so. Pygidium "heart-shaped," concave, shining, very sparsely pubescent, indistinctly punctate. Hind tibia longer than tarsus, first segment of hind tarsus straight, as long as others combined and slightly thicker. Length, 6.5 mm.
Type. — Female; Ventannes in Durango, Mexico, (Forrer). [British Museum.]
Plesiotype. — Female; La Providencia Obispo, Guatemala, (M. Ronillard). [U. S. National Museum.]
The above description was made from the plesiotype in the U. S. National Museum.
Variation. — Two females in the Schaeffer Collection collected in Brownsville, Texas, agree in all respects with the description and the specimen from Guatemala but differ as follows: The abdomen is yellow but the following parts are brown; pygidium, 6th and 5th tergite in their entire width, a broad patch on the fourth tergite, sides of last two sternites and in one of them a small spot on third tergite. Legs are usually darker, wings with a smoky band along the entire width, and base of elytra reddishbrown.