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What the sources say

Common EarwigForficula auricularia

Every figure, record and mechanism on the Common Earwig profile was written from a source, and this is the working table behind it: 42 claims checked word for word against these sources. The left column is what the page says. The right column is the source's own words, copied, not paraphrased; a ... marks a cut and[brackets] an insertion. Open any source and check it yourself.

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Source
01

Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan

Forficula auricularia. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

The page saysNot Evaluated
The source saysIUCN Red List Not EvaluatedNote: Prefetch found no Red List assessment DOI and GBIF holds no category; ADW lists IUCN Red List: Not Evaluated. No IUCN reference is cited.
The page saysDark, moist places in forests, farmland and suburbs
The source saysthey prefer places that are dark and moist to hide from predators. Their habitats include forests, agricultural, and suburban areas
The page saysnative to Europe, eastern Asia and northern Africa
The source saysEuropean earwigs are native to Europe, eastern Asia, and northern Africa
The page saysAphids and other small animals, plus living and decaying plants
The source saysThey feed on other organisms, both dead and alive, including aphids , maggots , mites , spiders , and protozoans . They also feed on both living and decaying plants
The page saysThe two pincers on the tail end are forceps, also called cerci.
The source saysEuropean earwigs are well-known for the set of forceps, known as cerci, that protrude from the abdomen
The page saysMales wave and bob them in courtship.
The source saysMales wave and bob the forceps in the air, stroking and grasping the female.
The page saysWhen threatened, the earwig snaps them together.
The source saysWhen European earwigs feel threatened or their offspring are threatened by a predator, they use their forceps as a weapon by snapping them quickly together.
The page saysIts other defence is a set of glands in the abdomen that secrete chemicals to repel predators.
The source saysThese include using their forceps as a weapon and using glands found in the abdomen to secrete chemicals that act as a repellent to predators.
The page saysMale forceps are longer and more curved than the female's.
The source sayswith those of the male being longer and more curved than those of the female
The page saysIt is nocturnal, hiding by day in dark, moist places and emerging at night to hunt or scavenge.
The source saysEuropean earwigs are nocturnal. They hide during the day in dark moist places ... At night, they emerge to hunt or scavenge for food.
The page saysIt eats aphids, maggots, mites and spiders, plus living and decaying plants.
The source saysincluding aphids , maggots , mites , spiders , and protozoans . They also feed on both living and decaying plants
The page saysIt is native to Europe, eastern Asia and northern Africa, and today it lives on every continent except Antarctica.
The source saysEuropean earwigs are native to Europe, eastern Asia, and northern Africa. Today, they can be found on all continents except Antarctica.
The page saysADW gives a typical life of 1 year in the wild
The source saysA typical European earwig lives 1 year in the wild.Note: ADW is old; current source for the generation length is the next claim.
The page saysThe mother feeds her newly hatched young by regurgitation, bringing up food for them.
The source saysOnce the larvae hatch in about 70 days, mothers provide their young with food by regurgitation until they reach the second.Note: 'bringing up food' is a gloss of regurgitation.
The page saysThe nymphs release pheromones, chemical signals that encourage her to keep caring for them.
The source saysNymphs also release pheromones, which encourage mothers to provide care to their young.
The page saysAbout two months after hatching they become independent and no longer need her.
The source saysThe offspring become independent two months after hatching and no longer require parental care.
The page saysThey eat aphids, which can badly damage apple and pear orchards, and they can help control that pest.
The source saysAphids , a staple in European earwigs' diet, can cause great destruction to apple and pear orchards. European earwigs can help to control the population of aphids
The page saysThey also feed on fruits and other crops and can cause considerable damage, though ADW says it is not nearly as destructive as aphids.
The source saysThey can also cause damage to fruits and other crops as they feed on them. They are not as nearly destructive as aphids or other pests, but their feeding can still cause considerable damage to crops.

Source
02

Ridge

Ridge. European earwig (Forficula auricularia). The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station.

The page saysThe garden insect whose mother grooms her eggs like a hen
The source saysShe will groom and turn the eggs much like a hen
The page saysmay go as long as 7 months without feeding
The source saysthe female does not eat, and she may not feed for as long as 7 months
The page saysA mother that grooms and guards her eggs like a hen
The source saysShe will groom and turn the eggs much like a hen, frequently shifting their position. Once the eggs have hatched, she will guard her young and feed them
The page saysThe European earwig, Forficula auricularia, has a trait that is rare among insects: the mother cares for her eggs and young.
The source saysThe female earwig exhibits behavior that is rare among insects, maternal care of the eggs and young.
The page saysIn late winter the female lays her eggs in a chamber in the soil and drives the male out.
The source saysA chamber is excavated in the soil to provide the pair with an over wintering site. In late winter, the female lays her eggs and then drives the male from the chamber.
The page saysShe grooms and turns the eggs much like a hen, frequently shifting their position.
The source saysShe will groom and turn the eggs much like a hen, frequently shifting their position.
The page saysOnce they hatch, she guards the young and feeds them until they have molted into the third stage.
The source saysOnce the eggs have hatched, she will guard her young and feed them until they have molted into the third stage.
The page saysDuring this period the female does not eat, and she may not feed for as long as 7 months.
The source saysDuring this period, the female does not eat, and she may not feed for as long as 7 months.
The page saysAn adult is reddish brown.
The source saysAn adult earwig is reddish brown
The page saysand a Connecticut fact sheet as about ¾ inch.
The source saysapproximately ¾ inches long
The page saysThe 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 source saysIts name is derived from a European superstition that the insect will crawl into the ears of people as they sleep. This is untrue.
The page saysThe pincers look fearsome, but they are mainly used in courtship, and the earwig is considered harmless to people.
The source saysDespite the formidable appearance of caudal forceps/pincers, which are primarily used for courtship, the earwig is considered harmless to people.

Source
03

Penn State Extension

European earwigs. Penn State Extension.

The page saysA first batch holds 30 to 55 eggs.
The source saysIn the first batch, females lay from 30 to 55 eggs.
The page saysPenn State notes that some males have forceps 5 mm long, while others have forceps 9.5 mm long.
The source saysThe forceps of some males are 3/16 inch (5 mm) long, while others have forceps 3/8 inch (9.5 mm) long.
The page saysPenn State gives its length as 16 mm
The source saysAdult European earwigs are 5/8 inch (16 mm) long
The page saysand Penn State says the species has one generation per year.
The source saysEuropean earwigs exhibit one generation per year

Source
04

Haas, Gorb & Wootton 2000

Haas, Gorb & Wootton (2000). Elastic joints in dermapteran hind wings: materials and wing folding. Arthropod Structure & Development.

The page sayshind wings that must be unfolded by the tail forceps
The source saysthe wing cannot be unfolded from the thorax proper but must be unfolded by the cerciNote: cerci = the forceps per ADW: 'forceps, known as cerci'.
The page saysThe hind wings of Forficula auricularia fold from within the wing, driven mainly by resilin, a rubber-like protein.
The source saysfolding is achieved from within the wing ... Resilin, a rubber-like protein, was revealed ... resilin is the major driving mechanism for wing folding
The page saysThe wing cannot be unfolded from the thorax proper but must be unfolded by the cerci.
The source saysthe wing cannot be unfolded from the thorax proper but must be unfolded by the cerci
The page saysfolded hind wings cannot be opened from the thorax and must be unfolded by the pincers on its tail
The source saysthe wing cannot be unfolded from the thorax proper but must be unfolded by the cerciNote: vibe.reason, animal half

Source
05

Tomkins & Brown 2004

Tomkins & Brown (2004). Population density drives the local evolution of a threshold dimorphism. Nature.

The page saysA 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.
The source saysHere we show threshold evolution in the forceps dimorphism of the European earwig Forficula auricularia and document the transition from completely monomorphic to classical male-dimorphic populations over a distance of only 40 km. ... this factor drives the local evolution of the male dimorphism in these island populationsNote: 2004 is the publication year of the cited reference (Tomkins & Brown 2004).

Source
06

Falk et al. 2014

Falk et al. (2014). Sibling Cooperation in Earwig Families Provides Insights into the Early Evolution of Social Life. The American Naturalist.

The page saysIn an experiment, food eaten by one young earwig was passed to its siblings through mouth-to-anus contacts.
The source saysHere we show experimentally that sibling interactions also reflect cooperative behaviors in the form of food sharing in nonderived families of the European earwig, Forficula auricularia. Food ingested by individual offspring was transferred to their siblings through mouth-to-anus contactsNote: 'experiment' = abstract's 'experimentally'.

Source
07

Guillet, Josselin & Vancassel 2000

Guillet, Josselin & Vancassel (2000). Multiple introductions of the Forficula auricularia species complex (Dermaptera: Forficulidae) in eastern North America. The Canadian Entomologist.

The page saysA 2000 study treats the name Forficula auricularia as a species complex.
The source saysthe European earwig, Forficula auricularia L., species complexNote: 2000 is the publication year of the cited reference (Guillet et al. 2000); dated so the species-complex view is not stated as current fact from a 2000 source.
The page saysIts survey of nine populations in eastern North America found two sibling species there, called A and B.
The source saysA survey of nine populations of the European earwig, Forficula auricularia L., species complex from eastern North America revealed the presence of the two sibling species recently identified as species A and B.

How the table was made: a writer drafted the profile from these sources and logged each claim with its quote, a reviewer with nothing but this table checked every sentence said no more than its quote, and a script confirmed each quote appears word for word in the source. The method is in the site'sAbout page.