COMMON EAEWIG. 85 



old felt hats also catch a tremendous quantity by placing 

 them on the top of stakes, and clearing them out daily." — 

 (A.E.) 



Another plan of trapping, which is found to answer well for 

 field service in Germany, is to leave old field weed baskets 

 standing (presumably wrong way up) in one place for a day 

 or two. When these are jarred smartly on the ground in the 

 morning, even on a smooth clear piece of ground, it is stated 

 that such numbers of Earwigs fall out, that it is difficult to 

 trample on them all before some of them escape. In such a 

 case, shaking them out on to a tarred board would be an 

 effectual stop to their getting away. 



Another German plan is to lay little bundles of Bean or 

 Cabbage-stalks, or any kind of stems which Earwigs will 

 frequent, about the infested field or garden bed, and clear 

 these from time to time. In 1886, the year so especially 

 remarkable for prevalence of Earwigs, one of my correspon- 

 dents sent me the following note : — " Small heaps of straw 

 laid at short intervals and fired on a still evening, after a 

 few days, will destroy immense quantities of Earwigs and 

 beetles."— (R. W.) 



The following observation by Prof. F. M. Webster, of the 

 Agricultural Experiment Station, U.S.A., made during a tour 

 in Tasmania, gives what might be a very useful suggestion as 

 to methods of trapping Earwigs in this country also, especially 

 when they are found infesting standard trees unconnected 

 with others. Prof. Webster notes that there is in Tasmania a 

 species of Earwig {Forficula sp.) which eats into and destroys 

 ripe fruit, and remarks : — "It seems to me that these could 

 be easily trapped, as I found them swarming in orchards and 

 gardens, under boards and rubbish, and also on the bands on 

 fruit trees used against the Codlin Moth, which were literally 

 alive with them." * 



Prof. Webster does not mention the special kind of band, 

 but the kind which is made of a strip of cloth or sacking 

 doubled several times and tied round the tree by a string or 

 wire run within the double at the top would appear to make 

 just the dry warm shelter that Earwigs like. For full de- 

 scription, see previous paper on Codlin Moth, p. 13. 



Other methods of treatment, such as shaking the Earwigs 

 down at night on light trays well covered on the upper surface 

 with wet tar, have been found to answer excellently where the 

 nature of the crop attacked (as Hops, for instance) allowed it 

 to be carried out ; but for broadscale lessening of amount of 

 infestation, such treatment, as that of which examples are 



* See ' Insect Life,' vol. i. p. 361. United States Board of Agriculture, 

 Washington. 



