I have kept this earwig in a quart yogurt container along with a wad of paper towel and a smaller flightless earwig I found during my visit to California last December. I fed it an occasional shrimp pellet (goldfish food) and a few flakes of rolled oats and sprayed the container daily or twice daily to maintain moisture.

Although this fellow jumped whenever I sprayed the container during the first few months, he grew accustomed to it in time and had no reaction other than to immediately put his head down and begin drinking.

He appeared to suffer antenna rot, losing one antennomere after another and had to investigate things with his palps instead.

Yesterday afternoon I peered in to discover him curled up on his back and the wad of paper towel was dry as a bone. I had forgotten to spray the container. I discovered he was still alive so I sprayed water on him and he immediately began drinking what he could that was clinging to his mouth. I turned him over so he could drink from the floor of the container, which he did non-stop. I wondered if it might be possible for him to drink too much. A couple hours later I found him dead, hard and stiff, as if turgid like a soaked, swollen bean.

Also his container-mate was missing. He/she normally could be found inside the paper towel wad, but not this time. Could it have escaped or did I forget to retrieve it from its paper towel abode last time I provided a clean container and fresh paper towel?