Africa Wild Insect Book: Earwigs (Order: Dermaptera)
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Africa Wild Insect Book: Earwigs Photos & Description
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Index to Earwigs (Order Dermaptera)
Order: Dermaptera (Earwigs)
Family Anisolabididae (=Carcinophoridae)
Euborellia annulipes Ring-legged Earwig
Family: Apachyidae
Family: Forficulidae
Family: Labiduridae
Family: Pygidicranidae
Family: Spongiphoridae
Family Anisolabididae (=Carcinophoridae)
Euborellia annulipes Ring-legged Earwig
Family: Apachyidae
Family: Forficulidae
Family: Labiduridae
Family: Pygidicranidae
Family: Spongiphoridae
Re: Africa Wild Insect Book: Earwigs Photos & Description
Earwigs make up the insect order Dermaptera and are found throughout the Americas, Africa, Eurasia, Australia and New Zealand. With about 2,000 species in 12 families, they are one of the smaller insect orders. Earwigs have characteristic cerci, a pair of forceps pincers on their abdomen, and membranous wings folded underneath short forewings, hence the scientific order name, "skin wings." Some groups are tiny parasites on mammals and lack the typical pincers. Earwigs rarely use their flying ability.
The characteristics which distinguish the order Dermaptera from other insect orders are:
General body shape: Elongate; dorso-ventrally flattened.
Head: Prognathous. Antennae are segmented. Biting-type mouthparts. Ocelli absent. Compound eyes in most species, reduced or absent in some taxa.
Appendages: Two pairs of wings normally present. The forewings are modified into short smooth, veinless tegmina. Hindwings are membranous and semicircular with veins radiating outwards.
Abdomen: Cerci are unsegmented and resemble forceps. The ovipositor in females is reduced or absent.
Earwigs are nocturnal; they often hide in small, moist crevices during the day, and are active at night, feeding on a wide variety of insects and plants. Damage to foliage, flowers, and various crops is commonly blamed on earwigs, especially the common earwig Forficula auricularia.
Earwigs have five molts in the year before they become adults. Many earwig species display maternal care, which is uncommon among insects. Female earwigs may care for their eggs, and even after they have hatched as nymphs will continue to watch over offspring until their second molt. As the nymphs molt, sexual dimorphism such as differences in pincer shapes begins to show.
Morphology
Most earwigs are flattened (which allows them to fit inside tight crevices, such as under bark) with an elongated body generally 7–50 mm long. Earwigs are characterized by the cerci, or the pair of forceps-like pincers on their abdomen; male earwigs have curved pincers, while females have straight ones. These pincers are used to capture prey, defend themselves and fold their wings under the short tegmina. The antennae are thread-like with at least 10 segments or more.
The forewings are short oblong leathery plates used to cover the hindwings like the elytra of a beetle, rather than to fly. Most species have short and leather-like forewings with very thin hindwings, though species in the former suborders Arixeniina and Hemimerina have no wings and are blind with filiform segmented cerci (today these are both included merely as families in the suborder Neodermaptera). The hindwing is a very thin membrane that expands like a fan, radiating from one point folded under the forewing. Even though most earwigs have wings and are capable of flight, they are rarely seen in flight. These wings are unique in venation and in the pattern of folding that requires the use of the cerci. The epizoic species, sometimes considered as ectoparasites, are wingless.
Life cycle and reproduction
Earwigs are hemimetabolous, meaning they undergo incomplete metamorphosis, developing through a series of 4 to 6 molts. The developmental stages between molts are called instars. Earwigs live for about a year from hatching. The male and female will live in a chamber in debris, crevices, or soil 2.5 mm deep. After mating, the sperm may remain in the female for months before the eggs are fertilized. From midwinter to early spring, the male will leave, or be driven out by the female. Afterward the female will begin to lay 20 to 80 pearly white eggs in 2 days. Some earwigs, those parasitic in the suborders Arixeniina and Hemimerina, are viviparous (give birth to live young); they would be fed by a sort of placenta. When first laid, the eggs are white or cream-colored and oval-shaped, but right before hatching they become kidney-shaped and brown. Each egg is approximately 1 mm tall and 0.8 mm wide.
Earwigs are among the few non-social insect species that show maternal care. The mother will pay close attention to the needs of her eggs, such as warmth and protection, though studies have shown that the mother does not pay attention to the eggs as she collects them. The mother has been shown to pick up wax balls by accident, but they would eventually be rejected as they do not have the proper scent. The mother will also vigorously defend the eggs from predators, not eating unless an egg goes bad. Another distinct maternal care unique to earwigs is that the mother continuously cleans the eggs to protect them from fungi.
The eggs hatch in seven days. The mother may assist the nymphs in hatching. When the nymphs hatch, they eat the egg casing and continue to live with the mother. The nymphs look similar to their parents, only smaller, and will nest under their mother and she will continue to protect them until their second molt in about July. The nymphs feed on food regurgitated by the mother, and on their own molts. If the mother dies before the nymphs are ready to leave, the nymphs may eat her.
After five to six instars, the nymphs will molt into adults. The male's forceps will become curved, while the females' remain straight. They will also develop their natural color, which can be anything from a light brown to a dark black (as in the Ring-legged earwig). In species of winged earwigs, the wings will start to develop at this time. The forewings of an earwig are sclerotized to serve as protection for the membranous hindwings.
Behavior
Most earwigs are nocturnal and inhabit small crevices, living in small amounts of debris, in various forms such as bark and fallen logs. Species have been found to be blind and living in caves, or cavernicolous; reported to be found on the island of Hawaii and in South Africa. Food typically consist of a wide array of living and dead plant and animal matter.
Ecology
Earwigs are mostly scavengers, but some are omnivorous or predatory. The abdomen of the earwig is flexible and muscular. It is capable of maneuvering as well as opening and closing the forceps. The forceps are used for a variety of purposes. In some species, the forceps have been observed in use for holding prey, and in copulation. The forceps tend to be more curved in males than in females.
The common earwig is one of the few insects that actively hunt for food and are omnivorous, eating arthropods, plants, and ripe fruit. To a large extent, this species is also a scavenger, feeding on decaying plant and animal matter if given the chance. Observed prey include largely plant lice, but also large insects such as bluebottle flies. Plants that they feed on typically include clover, dahlias, zinnias, butterfly bush, hollyhock, lettuce, cauliflower, strawberry, blackberry, sunflowers, celery, peaches, plums, grapes, potatoes, roses, seedling beans and beets, and tender grass shoots and roots; they have also been known to eat corn silk, damaging the corn.
Species of the suborders Arixeniina and Hemimerina are generally considered epizoic, or living on the outside of other animals, mainly mammals.
Earwigs are generally nocturnal, and typically hide in small, dark, and often moist areas in the daytime. They can usually be seen on household walls and ceilings. Interaction with earwigs at this time results in a defensive free-fall to the ground followed by a scramble to a nearby cleft or crevice.[24] During the summer they can be found around damp areas such as near sinks and in bathrooms. Earwigs tend to gather in shady cracks or openings or anywhere that they can remain concealed during daylight. Some people erroneously believe that earwigs burrow into people's ears; that is mostly a myth, although earwigs may crawl into ears and some can bite, as other insects do (see above). Picnic tables, compost and waste bins, patios, lawn furniture, window frames, or anything with minute spaces (even artichoke blossoms) can potentially harbour them.
Links:
Checklist: Earwigs of South Africa; The Earwigs (Dermaptera) of South Africa. Compiled by Martin H. Villet
The characteristics which distinguish the order Dermaptera from other insect orders are:
General body shape: Elongate; dorso-ventrally flattened.
Head: Prognathous. Antennae are segmented. Biting-type mouthparts. Ocelli absent. Compound eyes in most species, reduced or absent in some taxa.
Appendages: Two pairs of wings normally present. The forewings are modified into short smooth, veinless tegmina. Hindwings are membranous and semicircular with veins radiating outwards.
Abdomen: Cerci are unsegmented and resemble forceps. The ovipositor in females is reduced or absent.
Earwigs are nocturnal; they often hide in small, moist crevices during the day, and are active at night, feeding on a wide variety of insects and plants. Damage to foliage, flowers, and various crops is commonly blamed on earwigs, especially the common earwig Forficula auricularia.
Earwigs have five molts in the year before they become adults. Many earwig species display maternal care, which is uncommon among insects. Female earwigs may care for their eggs, and even after they have hatched as nymphs will continue to watch over offspring until their second molt. As the nymphs molt, sexual dimorphism such as differences in pincer shapes begins to show.
Morphology
Most earwigs are flattened (which allows them to fit inside tight crevices, such as under bark) with an elongated body generally 7–50 mm long. Earwigs are characterized by the cerci, or the pair of forceps-like pincers on their abdomen; male earwigs have curved pincers, while females have straight ones. These pincers are used to capture prey, defend themselves and fold their wings under the short tegmina. The antennae are thread-like with at least 10 segments or more.
The forewings are short oblong leathery plates used to cover the hindwings like the elytra of a beetle, rather than to fly. Most species have short and leather-like forewings with very thin hindwings, though species in the former suborders Arixeniina and Hemimerina have no wings and are blind with filiform segmented cerci (today these are both included merely as families in the suborder Neodermaptera). The hindwing is a very thin membrane that expands like a fan, radiating from one point folded under the forewing. Even though most earwigs have wings and are capable of flight, they are rarely seen in flight. These wings are unique in venation and in the pattern of folding that requires the use of the cerci. The epizoic species, sometimes considered as ectoparasites, are wingless.
Life cycle and reproduction
Earwigs are hemimetabolous, meaning they undergo incomplete metamorphosis, developing through a series of 4 to 6 molts. The developmental stages between molts are called instars. Earwigs live for about a year from hatching. The male and female will live in a chamber in debris, crevices, or soil 2.5 mm deep. After mating, the sperm may remain in the female for months before the eggs are fertilized. From midwinter to early spring, the male will leave, or be driven out by the female. Afterward the female will begin to lay 20 to 80 pearly white eggs in 2 days. Some earwigs, those parasitic in the suborders Arixeniina and Hemimerina, are viviparous (give birth to live young); they would be fed by a sort of placenta. When first laid, the eggs are white or cream-colored and oval-shaped, but right before hatching they become kidney-shaped and brown. Each egg is approximately 1 mm tall and 0.8 mm wide.
Earwigs are among the few non-social insect species that show maternal care. The mother will pay close attention to the needs of her eggs, such as warmth and protection, though studies have shown that the mother does not pay attention to the eggs as she collects them. The mother has been shown to pick up wax balls by accident, but they would eventually be rejected as they do not have the proper scent. The mother will also vigorously defend the eggs from predators, not eating unless an egg goes bad. Another distinct maternal care unique to earwigs is that the mother continuously cleans the eggs to protect them from fungi.
The eggs hatch in seven days. The mother may assist the nymphs in hatching. When the nymphs hatch, they eat the egg casing and continue to live with the mother. The nymphs look similar to their parents, only smaller, and will nest under their mother and she will continue to protect them until their second molt in about July. The nymphs feed on food regurgitated by the mother, and on their own molts. If the mother dies before the nymphs are ready to leave, the nymphs may eat her.
After five to six instars, the nymphs will molt into adults. The male's forceps will become curved, while the females' remain straight. They will also develop their natural color, which can be anything from a light brown to a dark black (as in the Ring-legged earwig). In species of winged earwigs, the wings will start to develop at this time. The forewings of an earwig are sclerotized to serve as protection for the membranous hindwings.
Behavior
Most earwigs are nocturnal and inhabit small crevices, living in small amounts of debris, in various forms such as bark and fallen logs. Species have been found to be blind and living in caves, or cavernicolous; reported to be found on the island of Hawaii and in South Africa. Food typically consist of a wide array of living and dead plant and animal matter.
Ecology
Earwigs are mostly scavengers, but some are omnivorous or predatory. The abdomen of the earwig is flexible and muscular. It is capable of maneuvering as well as opening and closing the forceps. The forceps are used for a variety of purposes. In some species, the forceps have been observed in use for holding prey, and in copulation. The forceps tend to be more curved in males than in females.
The common earwig is one of the few insects that actively hunt for food and are omnivorous, eating arthropods, plants, and ripe fruit. To a large extent, this species is also a scavenger, feeding on decaying plant and animal matter if given the chance. Observed prey include largely plant lice, but also large insects such as bluebottle flies. Plants that they feed on typically include clover, dahlias, zinnias, butterfly bush, hollyhock, lettuce, cauliflower, strawberry, blackberry, sunflowers, celery, peaches, plums, grapes, potatoes, roses, seedling beans and beets, and tender grass shoots and roots; they have also been known to eat corn silk, damaging the corn.
Species of the suborders Arixeniina and Hemimerina are generally considered epizoic, or living on the outside of other animals, mainly mammals.
Earwigs are generally nocturnal, and typically hide in small, dark, and often moist areas in the daytime. They can usually be seen on household walls and ceilings. Interaction with earwigs at this time results in a defensive free-fall to the ground followed by a scramble to a nearby cleft or crevice.[24] During the summer they can be found around damp areas such as near sinks and in bathrooms. Earwigs tend to gather in shady cracks or openings or anywhere that they can remain concealed during daylight. Some people erroneously believe that earwigs burrow into people's ears; that is mostly a myth, although earwigs may crawl into ears and some can bite, as other insects do (see above). Picnic tables, compost and waste bins, patios, lawn furniture, window frames, or anything with minute spaces (even artichoke blossoms) can potentially harbour them.
Links:
Checklist: Earwigs of South Africa; The Earwigs (Dermaptera) of South Africa. Compiled by Martin H. Villet
Re: Africa Wild Insect Book: Earwigs Photos & Description
Ring-legged Earwig Euborellia annulipes
Suborder: Forficulina. Family: Anisolabididae. Subfamily: Anisolabidinae
© BluTuna
Garden in Johannesburg
Description
The Ring-legged Earwig is a medium-sized species, 10 mm to 25 mm in length, wingless, dark brown. Like most earwigs, the females are larger than the males. It has pale legs usually ringed with dark markings around the middle of the femur, or occasionally the tibia, hence their common name. The antennae generally have sixteen segments, although other numbers are possible, they are dark with the third and fourth (and sometimes fifth) subapical segments usually pale. Forceps stout and assymmetrical. Their cerci share similar characteristics to most earwigs, as males' cerci are more curved than females'. Further gender differences can be found in the species abdomen: males have ten abdominal segments, while females have eight.
Distribution
Worldwide in temperate and tropical areas, except Australia. Widespread in South Africa: Western Cape, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, to Zimbabwe
Habitat
Damp habitats, compost heaps, suburban gardens, found under debris, rocks, and bark, sometimes indoors.
Diet
A predator of other insects, it also eats all kinds of plant material, though it rarely bothers with live plants.
Suborder: Forficulina. Family: Anisolabididae. Subfamily: Anisolabidinae
© BluTunaGarden in Johannesburg
Description
The Ring-legged Earwig is a medium-sized species, 10 mm to 25 mm in length, wingless, dark brown. Like most earwigs, the females are larger than the males. It has pale legs usually ringed with dark markings around the middle of the femur, or occasionally the tibia, hence their common name. The antennae generally have sixteen segments, although other numbers are possible, they are dark with the third and fourth (and sometimes fifth) subapical segments usually pale. Forceps stout and assymmetrical. Their cerci share similar characteristics to most earwigs, as males' cerci are more curved than females'. Further gender differences can be found in the species abdomen: males have ten abdominal segments, while females have eight.
Distribution
Worldwide in temperate and tropical areas, except Australia. Widespread in South Africa: Western Cape, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, to Zimbabwe
Habitat
Damp habitats, compost heaps, suburban gardens, found under debris, rocks, and bark, sometimes indoors.
Diet
A predator of other insects, it also eats all kinds of plant material, though it rarely bothers with live plants.
Hunting cannot be considered a sport as all contestants in a sport should know they are playing the game!