Common Earwig Forficula auricularia

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Species Information
Length 10-15 mm. The Common Earwig is the only earwig that most people see in the British Isles, the remaining species are much less common and usually localised. It is shiny reddish-brown and heavily plated, with two deadly-looking pincers at the rear of the abdomen. These are more curved in the male, and are mainly used for defence and courtship. It appears to be virtually wingless, but the hind wings are partly concealed beneath the outer, modified forewings, and it rarely flies.

The female can have 2 generations, laying 50-90 pearly white eggs in a burrow dug in the ground about 5 cm below the surface. She defends the eggs against predators and keeps them free of mould by licking them. After the nymphs hatch, the female cares for them during the early stages. Earwigs undergo a type of development known as incomplete metamorphosis, in which the nymphs progress through a series of moults. The stages between moults are known as ‘instars’, and there are 4 instars for the Common Earwig. The female will have lost her maternal instinct when the nymphs reach their second instar. If they have not left the nest by this time they risk being eaten by their mother.

The Common Earwig feeds on almost anything, from various plant material to aphids and other small insects, and scavenges from dead matter. It can become a pest of some cultivated flowers where it may eat the petals. Seen most of the year, especially autumn, becoming dormant in the winter. Occuring in a wide variety of habitats, including hedgerows parks and gardens. It can be found amongst low vegetation, under rocks and stones, in log piles, tucked into bark crevices, and amongst leaf-litter on the ground. Common and widespread throughout, and native to Britain.

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Classification

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Photographs

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All photographs copyright © Peter Hillman
Please see the ‘about‘ page for details on use of images

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