56 BRITISH ORTHOPTERA. 



earwig and the restharrow (Ononis). The same season 

 Ashdown found this earwig in many places around 

 Leatherhead during September and October, and in 

 some places it seemed to replace F. auricularia. 

 He took it in the sweeping-net and by beating old 

 hedges. 



Early in October 1899, with Ashdown, I visited two 

 of the haunts of F. lesnei near Leatherhead. Beating 

 bushes in the hedgerows produced it in considerable 

 numbers ; in fact it was obtained much more commonly 

 than its congener F. aiiricularia, as many as three or 

 four being more than once found in the umbrella at 

 the same time. It is readily distinguished at sight 

 from the commoner species by its much smaller size, 

 its rich sienna-red colouring, and in the male by 

 the shape and colour of the callipers, which look 

 conspicuously pale. Of course, closer examination 

 reveals the fact that there are no wings in either sex. 

 Males occurred rather more commonly than females. 

 Notice was taken of the plants of which the hedges 

 consisted, from which F. lesnei was beaten. The 

 following were amongst them :- -Bramble, hazel, way- 

 faring-tree, dogwood, blackthorn, whitethorn, elder, 

 rose, ivy, oak, maple, and spindle-tree. The list is 

 long enough, but probably no significance is to be 

 attached to it, as no doubt the earwigs used the bushes 

 for shelter, or were seeking their food upon them. 

 F. lesnei will eat fruit, and Ashdown fed some on rice ; 

 but if the truth were known, it would probably turn 

 out that they are omnivorous, even if they are not 

 more often insectivorous, seeking their food on the 



7 O 



plants from which they are swept or beaten. It may 

 be mentioned that Burr obtained this earwig amongst 

 thistles and nettles in the Isle of Wight, while Tomlin 

 took it on yellow horned poppy at Swanage. Burr 

 found it more frequently in the evening than in the 

 daytime on 8 September 1907 by sweeping amongst 

 flowers and shrubs at Folkestone Warren, while Porritt 

 (13 September 1913) got it there plentifully by beating 



