Nature table: EARWIGS

There are three species of earwig in Ireland, but two of them, Lesne’s earwig and the lesser earwig, are rare and confined to small areas in south Munster. The common earwig is found nearly everywhere, and in a few weeks they will be coming out of hibernation.

The females will lay 30 to 50 pre-fertilised eggs in a brood chamber in a dark crevice. These hatch into miniature versions of the adult, without any pupal stage, and moult their outer skeleton five times before they become fully grown, later in the year. Earwigs are unusual among insects in that the mother cares for her eggs and young, cleaning the eggs, and feeding and protecting the young until their second moult. Earwigs are omnivores, eating both plant and animal matter, dead and alive. They have wings, though the common earwig seldom flies. The main purpose for the pincers on the rear end is to fold and unfold the wings. They are also used in mating, for catching prey, and in defence.