Description

The earwig is a very common insect, and one that often triggers repulsion due to the unfounded belief that they enter people's ears and burrow into their brains. Their name derives from the Old English word earwicga, which means 'ear creature' (3); the specific part of the scientific name of this species, auricularia also reflects the association with ears (4). One largely unknown explanation for these names is that the hindwings, which are neatly folded concertina fashion below the short, leathery forewings are the shape of human ears, and 'earwig' may be a corruption of 'ear wing' (3). The common European earwig is reddish brown in colour, with a flattened and elongate body, and slender, beaded antennae. An obvious feature of earwigs is the pair of 'pincers' or forceps at the tip of the flexible abdomen. Both sexes have these pincers; in males they are large and very curved, whereas in females they are straight (3). Larvae or 'nymphs' are similar to adults in appearance, but their wings are either absent or small (3).