attractive to tlic earwigs, for they have a certain 

 amount of liking for ripe fruit. 



It seems to be the fact, however, that earwigs are 

 by nature animal feeders* and that other insects form 

 their staple food. One or two in stances might be cited. 

 In August 1909 H. Eltringham noticed at South Shields 

 a common earwig (he thinks a male) eating in the 

 evening the eggs of Tryphaena pronuba Linn., as the 

 moth deposited them. It ate probably about 60 by the 

 next morning. Staveley (' British Insects ') quotes a case 

 of F. auricular ia seizing a small beetle round its middle 

 with the callipers and carrying it away in spite of its 

 struggles. Camerano, Riihl, and others have noticed 



o o ' 



that the earwig is fond of a carnivorous diet. F. 

 auricular ia is reported to be beneficial by exterminating 

 Iarva3 of ConcJiilis ambiguella Hubn,,f and its destroying 

 the sugar-cane leaf -hopper (Perkinsiella saccharicida) 

 has already been referred to. In 1829 McGlorrie states 

 that the earwig destroys the larvae of Cecidomyia 

 tritici Kirby, three of which he successively presented 

 to an earwig which devoured them immediately. J J. W. 

 Douglas states that earwigs are probably coccidiferous, 

 as judged by two young earwigs being found engaged 

 in demolishing the last remains of a Lecanium ribis. 

 On the other hand F. V. Theobald on one occasion 

 found the young of F. auricularia, which were very 

 numerous, destructive to tender hop-foliage at night; 

 he also states that this earwig " is often very abundant 

 and destructive to flowers and vegetables." || 



In a paper "Notes on certain Parasites, food, etc.," 

 of the common earwig, Brindley discusses fully his 

 experiments and observations on the food of this 

 earwig. He found it both an animal and a vegetable 

 feeder (' Proc. Camb. Philos. Soc.' Feb. 1914). Sopp 

 considered it " largely carnivorous by choice, but often 



* Vide H. H. Brindley, ' Proc. Camb. Philos. Soc.' July 1918. 

 t ' Hovartani Lapok,' 1899, p. 175, and appendix, p. 16. 

 + London's ' Mag. Nat. Hist.' Nov. 1829. 

 ' Ent. Mo. Mag.' 1882, p. 88. 

 ' Ent. Mo. Mag.' 1896, p. 60. 



