Earwig

Earwigs, sometimes called pincerbugs, make up the insect order Dermaptera. The order is relatively small among other insect orders, with only 1,800 recorded species in 12 families, found through out the Americas, Eurasia and Australia. Typical earwigs have characteristic cerci, a pair of forceps-like pincers on their abdomen, and membranous wings folded underneath short forewings, hence the literal translation of the scientific name for order "skin wings". Some groups within the earwig order are tiny parasites on mammals and lack the typical pincers. Earwigs can fly, but rarely do so. Earwigs are nocturnal, they often hide in small, moist crevices during the day, and are active at night, feeding on a wide variety of other insects and plants. Damage to foliage, flowers, and various crops are commonly blamed on earwigs, especially the common earwig. However, the harmfulness of earwigs to foliage is still under debate, as they also eat certain insects that damage them. Earwigs undergo an average of 5 molts over the course of a year, their average life expectancy, before they become adults.... Mehr