Earwigs have slender, flattened bodies with bead-like antennae, and are easily recognized by the pair of large pincers (cerci) at the tip of their abdomens. Adult males have 10 abdominal segments (the pincers count as one), while females have 8. The grow up to 1.25 inches long (not counting cerci).
Earwigs tend to hide under debris during the day, but feed on plants, organic matter, and smaller insects at night. Some are almost exclusively carnivorous. They are often important in controlling soil pests.
Earwigs were thought to crawl into people's ears at night to nest or lay eggs- an obvious myth. While it's possible that, when people slept in damp places where earwigs lived, one might- very rarely- wander into an ear, any insect in the ear-canal would be too traumatic to leave in for long.
Earwigs are considered harmless to people, though they may emit a foul-smelling liquid when disturbed. Larger earwigs might use their "pincers" to "bite" someone, but have no venom- so no harm is done. |
