Order Dermaptera - Earwigs

Pincher Bugs

Dermaptera = "skin wings" Refers to the leathery texture of the forewings.

Earwig is from Old English eár-wicga="ear-insect" (wicga is translated into Latin as blatta [cockroach] in at least one ancient document, though it generally meant earwig). The theory that "earwig" comes from "ear wing" is incorrect: the word "wing" comes from Old Norse- and apparently isn't found in Old English at all.

Partridge (Origins--A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, 1958) gives the meaning of Old English wicga as beetle or worm, and mentions that folklore says the insect creeps into the human ear.

Over 1000 earwig species worldwide, with about 20 species in North America.

Nomina Nearctica lists 4 families:

More recent sources include 2 more families that Nearctica missed:

6-35 mm long (not counting cerci)

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.

Earwigs tend to hide under debris during the day, but feed on plants, organic matter, and smaller insects at night.

Plants, organic matter, other small insects (some are almost exclusively carnivorous). Earwigs are often important in controlling soil pests.

Simple metamorphosis with visible changes including increasing antennal segments and progressive wing development until sexual maturity. The mother cares for the eggs and nymphs.

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.

Earwigs are often moved around by humans: they hide in objects that are shipped or driven places, and are easily overlooked. Most of our species are introduced, and new ones show up all the time (though few get established).