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The
Diversity of The World of Life
True
Insects (Insecta)
Earwigs
(Dermaptera)
Representatives
Earwigs
Biology
APPROXIMATE NUMBER OF KNOWN SPECIES WORLDWIDE
Over
one thousand
DESCRIPTION
Earwigs are typically dark-colored,
small- to medium-sized, slender, and flat from top-to-bottom.
The antennae are threadlike and no more than about half as long as
the entire
body. The mouthparts are chewing.
The wings are usually present. The forewings -- which are hard,
short, and veinless -- do not overlap but do hide the membranous
hindwings, folded underneath, when not in use.
There is a characteristic, pincer-like tail.
METAMORPHOSIS
The nymphs of earwigs look like small adults, although with small or
no wings. The female lays
eggs in the soil and, then, guards them until they hatch (This primitive
form of social behavior is suggestive of the true societies of their near
relatives, the termites).
HABITATS
Earwigs come out at night but hide during the day in such
places as in debris or under bark.
FOODS
Earwigs feed mostly on plants or debris but sometimes on other invertebrates.
DAMAGES/BENEFITS
Many earwigs decompose natural litter, some feed on crops
(especially in gardens), some prey on snails and insects (which are often
pests), and some cause a nuisance indoors (ex. some earwigs put out a
smelly chemical for defense).
The pinch by the tail-end pincers of at least large earwigs
can be painful to us human beings.
True
Insects (Insecta)
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