European Earwig (Forficula auricularia)

Description

The European earwig is reddish-brown in color. It has a flattened, elongated body with thin, beaded antennae, shield-shaped pronotum, and a pair of wings. The bottom of the flexible abdomen bears a pair of pincers of forceps that are big and extremely curved in males and straight in females. They are 12-15 mm in size.The lobed 2^nd tarsal segment extends distally below the 3^rd one.  

They spend the day in cool, dark, hidden places like fruits, flowers, and wooden crevices. Though the wings are fully developed, they are pretty weak and rarely used. So, they are carried from one place to another via clothing or commercial products like newspaper bundles, ornamental shrubs, lumber, etc.

Distribution: Europe, North America, western Asia, and possibly northern Africa.

Habitat: Cool, moist places with an optimum mean growth temperature of 75°F (24°C). Their daily incidence in a year is linked to weather parameters like wind velocity, temperature, and easterly winds. Hibernating adults can tolerate low temperatures but find it difficult to survive in poorly drained soils such as clay. To escape excessive moisture, they seek the southern sides of well-drained slopes. They also live in hollow flower stems in poorly drained soils.                                                                                           

Do They Bite/Sting: No.

Lifespan: 1 year on average.

Predators: Parasitoid flies, some fungi, and many birds.

Behavior and Characteristics

Diet

They are active mainly at night, foraging, with their food varying from plant matter to small insects. Though omnivorous, they are not predators but act as scavengers.

Bite

It cannot bite but can pinch a person at the most with its pincers and hold on tight without breaking any skin. It is not painful in most cases.

Life Cycle

1. Egg Stage

The pearly white eggs are oval to elliptical in shape. They can resist cold and heat damage.

2. Nymph Stage

The nymphs look similar to the adults, but their wings are either absent or small, and they are of a lighter color. They pass through 4 stages and don’t leave the nest till the 1^st molt is over.

3. Adult Stage

A male finds a female with his sense of smell. Then he slips his pincers below the tip of her abdomen and stays in that position for many hours if not disturbed. A single mating event can make the female lay fertilized eggs.

They overwinter 5 mm below the ground surface. In autumn, a clutch of around 50 eggs is laid by a female in an underground nest. Then she enters a dormant state and remains nested with the eggs. She cares for them and the young who emerge in spring till they mature in about a month. The female can lay a second brood in a season, with all the young reaching maturity by August-end.