--- title: "Common Earwig (Forficula auricularia) | AnimalTracks.wiki" description: "The garden insect whose mother grooms her eggs like a hen and may go as long as 7 months without feeding." image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/common-earwig-1.webp" published: "2026-10-11" updated: "2026-10-11" --- # Common Earwig (*Forficula auricularia*) > **Status**: Checked against 7 sources, listed under Sources below. > **Tagline**: The garden insect whose mother grooms her eggs like a hen and may go as long as 7 months without feeding. > **Soundtrack Vibe**: Glacial Ambient & Drone Soundscapes // Mary Lattimore, "Silver Ladders" > **Soundtrack Links**: [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/track/0cWCoT7I1XOmpXAYG0C6QE) > **Vibe Match**: Harp patterns that unfold slowly, layer by layer, for an insect whose folded hind wings cannot be opened from the thorax and must be unfolded by the pincers on its tail. ## Biological Superpowers & Stats - **Taxonomy**: *Forficula auricularia* - **Danger Level**: Low - **Conservation Status**: Not Evaluated ([IUCN Red List](https://www.iucnredlist.org/)) - **Superpower**: A mother that grooms and guards her eggs like a hen, and hind wings that must be unfolded by the tail forceps - **Habitat**: Dark, moist places in forests, farmland and suburbs, native to Europe, eastern Asia and northern Africa - **Diet**: Aphids and other small animals, plus living and decaying plants - **Tags**: insect, nocturnal, omnivore, invasive ## Natural History & Behavior ## A Mother Who Skips Dinner for Months The European earwig, *Forficula auricularia*, has a trait that is rare among insects: the mother cares for her eggs and young. In late winter the female lays her eggs in a chamber in the soil and drives the male out. She grooms and turns the eggs much like a hen, frequently shifting their position. A first batch holds 30 to 55 eggs. Once they hatch, she guards the young and feeds them until they have molted into the third stage. During this period the female does not eat, and she may not feed for as long as 7 months. The nymphs, as young insects are called, share food with each other too. In an experiment, food eaten by one young earwig was passed to its siblings through mouth-to-anus contacts. ## Pincers, Courtship and Folded Wings The two pincers on the tail end are forceps, also called cerci. Males wave and bob them in courtship. When threatened, the earwig snaps them together. Its other defence is a set of glands in the abdomen that secrete chemicals to repel predators. Male forceps are longer and more curved than the female's. Penn State notes that some males have forceps 5 mm long, while others have forceps 9.5 mm long. A 2004 study of island populations found that population density drives whether males come in one forceps form or two, and traced the switch over a distance of only 40 km. > **Wings Unfolded by the Tail** The hind wings of *Forficula auricularia* fold from within the wing, driven mainly by resilin, a rubber-like protein. The wing cannot be unfolded from the thorax proper but must be unfolded by the cerci. ## Size, Range and a Short Life An adult is reddish brown. Penn State gives its length as 16 mm, and a Connecticut fact sheet as about ¾ inch. It is nocturnal, hiding by day in dark, moist places and emerging at night to hunt or scavenge. It eats aphids, maggots, mites and spiders, plus living and decaying plants. It is native to Europe, eastern Asia and northern Africa, and today it lives on every continent except Antarctica. ADW gives a typical life of 1 year in the wild, and Penn State says the species has one generation per year. ## One Name, Sibling Species A 2000 study treats the name *Forficula auricularia* as a species complex. Its survey of nine populations in eastern North America found two sibling species there, called A and B. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Do earwigs really crawl into people's ears? No. The name comes from a European superstition that the insect would crawl into the ears of sleeping people, and a Connecticut fact sheet calls that untrue. The pincers look fearsome, but they are mainly used in courtship, and the earwig is considered harmless to people. *(Source: [Ridge]())* ### How do baby earwigs get fed? The mother feeds her newly hatched young by regurgitation, bringing up food for them. The nymphs release pheromones, chemical signals that encourage her to keep caring for them. About two months after hatching they become independent and no longer need her. *(Source: [Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan]())* ### Are earwigs garden pests or garden helpers? Both. They eat aphids, which can badly damage apple and pear orchards, and they can help control that pest. They also feed on fruits and other crops and can cause considerable damage, though ADW says it is not nearly as destructive as aphids. *(Source: [Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan]())* ## Sources 1. [Forficula auricularia. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.]() 2. [Ridge. European earwig (Forficula auricularia). The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station.]() 3. [European earwigs. Penn State Extension.]() 4. [Haas, Gorb & Wootton (2000). Elastic joints in dermapteran hind wings: materials and wing folding. Arthropod Structure & Development.]() 5. [Tomkins & Brown (2004). Population density drives the local evolution of a threshold dimorphism. Nature.]() 6. [Falk et al. (2014). Sibling Cooperation in Earwig Families Provides Insights into the Early Evolution of Social Life. The American Naturalist.]() 7. [Guillet, Josselin & Vancassel (2000). Multiple introductions of the Forficula auricularia species complex (Dermaptera: Forficulidae) in eastern North America. The Canadian Entomologist.]() *Published October 11, 2026. 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