Forficula auricularia
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| Forficula auricularia Linnaeus, 1758 |
Forficula auricularia, the Common earwig or European earwig, is an omnivorous insect in the family Forficulidae. Native to Europe, it has been introduced to North America in the early twentieth century and is now present throughout much of the continent.
This earwig is about one centimetre long, shiny brown, with yellowish wings and legs. The cerci (pincers) of the male are thick and slightly curved; those of the female are straighter and less robust. The cerci are used during mating, feeding, and self-defence. The earwig has functional wings but rarely flies.
This insect is considered a pest of crops, although it does eat other pest insects and eggs as well as plant parts. Earwigs readily consume corn silk and can damage the crop. It wedges itself into enclosed spaces, and can be found resting in harvested produce and cut flowers.
The female earwig lays a clutch of about 50 eggs in an underground nest in the autumn. She enters a dormant state and stays in the nest with the eggs. In the spring the young emerge from the eggs and she guards them until they reach maturity after about one month.
Interestingly, the male of the species has two identical, fully-functional and independently operable penises. [1]
[edit] References
- H. V. Weems, Jr. & Paul E. Skelley (1998). European earwig - Forficula auricularia Linnaeus. University of Florida.
- Cranshaw, Whitney (2004). Garden Insects of North America. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-09561-2.
- Eisner, T. (1960). Defense Mechanisms of Arthropods. II. The Chemical and Mechanical Weapons of an Earwig. Psyche 67:62-70 PDF (Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 license)
