Common earwig
The common earwig is a shiny reddish-brown insect with a pair of pincers on its tail end. It hides in dark, cosy cracks during the day and comes out at night to eat. Its back wings are folded up so small that you would never guess it has them.
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Fun facts
Its unfolded back wings look a bit like a human ear, which is where its name comes from.
Both males and females have pincers. The male's are big and curved, the female's are straight.
It has wings but almost never flies. It travels by hitching rides on plants, wood and even newspapers.
It is a gardener's helper too, because it likes to eat aphids.
Most asked questions about Common earwig
?Do earwigs crawl into your ears?
No. That is an old story. Earwigs like dark cracks outdoors, not ears.
?Can earwigs fly?
They have wings, but they almost never use them.
?Do earwigs pinch?
They may try to pinch with their tail pincers if grabbed, but it does not hurt and is not dangerous.
Myth buster
Myth: Earwigs crawl into people's ears.
Truth: No. That is just an old story. Earwigs like dark cracks outdoors, not ears.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Forficula auricularia
- Group
- Other insects
- Family
- Forficulidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Dermaptera > Forficulidae
- Lives on
- Europe, Asia, North America, Australia and Oceania
- Also known as
- European earwig
Where the facts come from
- Forficula auricularia (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Rhododendrites. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at hello@bugwiki.app and we will fix it.
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