OUR HOUSEHOLD INSECTS 



brown colour, more or less tinged in places with black. 

 To the hindmost segment are attached the forceps, by 



which feature 

 alone earwigs 

 can be distin- 

 guished from all 

 other insects. 

 They differ con- 

 siderably in shape in the two sexes (Fig. 50). In the 

 male each forms a curve, so that when closed they 

 constitute the boundaries of an open oval space. On 

 the inner edge, near the base, they are ornamented 

 with small, irregular, tooth-like projections, and beyond 

 these, on each side, there is a solitary but much larger 



FIG. 49. Position of Earwig when walking. 



FIG. 50. Forceps of Earwigs. A, male ; B, female. Shown in the position 

 they take up after death. Magnified six diameters. 



one, just where the "legs" of the forceps begin to 

 diverge. The forceps are strong stout organs, of a 

 yellowish-brown colour, with the teeth blackish; they 

 are highly polished, and exhibit in different specimens 

 considerable variety as to length and degree of curvature. 

 Sometimes, through accidents in early life, they become 



