II.M'.ITS 01' i;.\i;WK;S. ) 



Inii which art' never seen in company with the young. Kirby and 

 Spence. in flieir renowned classic ilN.V.l. 1'IMi. citing I >e< leer 

 I 177-'!. .")4S|. mention this habit an follows: "This curious insect so 

 unjustly traduced ly a vulgar prejudice, approaches the haliils of 

 the lien in her care of her ianiily. She absolutely sits upon her eggs 

 as if lo hatch them, and guards them with the greatest care. I >e 

 (Jeer, having found an earwig thus occupied, removed her into a 

 box where was some earth, and scattered I he egg< in all direct ions. 

 She soon, however, collected them one by one with her jaws into 

 a heap, and assiduously sat upon them as before. The young 

 ones, which resemble the parent except in wanting elytra and 

 win^s. and. strange to say. are as soon as born larger than the 

 <>uo s which contained them, immediately upon being hatched 

 creep like a brood of chickens under the belly of the mother, who 

 very quietly suffers them to push between her feet, and will 

 often, as 1 >e< Jeer found, sit over them in this posture for some 

 hours." Fischer ( isr.:!. <;i' ) also states that "the female lays the 

 eggs, guards and even carries them about, so that they can always 

 "'joy the moisture necessary for their development." 



About 400 species of earwigs have been described, mostly from 

 tropical and semitropical countries, where they are common in 

 the cities along the sea coast. Many of the species are cosmopoli- 

 tan in distribution, their form enabling them to hide readily in 

 the crevices of ships and their cargoes, and thus be borne to all 

 j arts of the earth. Inland, especially in temperate and cold re- 

 gions, they are scarce. In Indiana, for example, only three spe- 

 cie* are known, and in all Canada but one. while in Florida !> of 

 the Hi species hereafter treated have been taken. Their wide dis- 

 tribution by commerce has led to much confusion in synonymy, 

 some of the species having been described under a do/en or more 

 names. 



Only l.~> native or established species of earwigs are at present 

 known from America north of Mexico. Of these lL'. belonging to 

 three subfamilies, occur in the territory covered by this work. 

 The principal literature treating of these is as follows :'- 



Scudder. lS7lib, 1S7C.C, 1*7Ud; HHin. I'.iu:}; P.UIT. I'.HO. 1!11. 

 I'll la: raudell. l!>i:5, ."!)."); K. & H.. l!H4e; Ilebard. 1!H7. 



KEY TO SVBFAMILIKS <)! FOlll l( n.II).lC. 



o. Second tarsal joint cylindrical, not prolonged beneath the third. 



h. Antennae with 16 to 30 segments, the fourth, fifth and sixth to- 



12 For full titles of papers see the Bibliography. 



