EARWIGS 



215 



artificially, so that it is very unlikely that the shape of the wings 

 should have been observed by untutored peoples. 



The group Forficulidae seems to be most rich in species in 

 warm and tropical regions ; several unwinged species are met 

 with in the mountainous districts of Europe ; indeed, in some 

 spots their individuals are extremely numerous under stones. In 

 Britain we have a list of six species, but only two of these are 

 to be met with ; the others have probably been introduced by 

 the agency of man, and it is doubtful whether more than one 

 of these immigrants is actually naturalised here. One of these 

 doubtfully native species is the fine Lahidura riparia (Fig. 110), 

 which was formerly found near Bournemouth. Altogether about 

 400 species of earwigs are known at the present time, and 

 as they are usually much neglected by Insect collectors, it is 

 certain that this number will be very largely increased, so that 

 it would be a moderate estimate to put the number of existing 

 species at about 2000 or 3000. None of them attain a very 

 large size, Psalis americana being one of the largest and 

 most robust of the family ; a few display brilliant colours, and 

 some exhibit a colour ornamentation of the surface ; there are two 

 or three species known that display a general resemblance to 

 Insects of other Orders. The remarkable earwig represented in 

 Fig. 102 (and which appears to be a nondescript form either 

 species or variety closely allied to P. marmoricauda) was found 

 by Baron von Hligel on the mountains of Java ; the femora in 

 this Insect have a broad face which is turned upwards instead of 

 outwards, the legs taking a peculiar position ; and it is curious 

 that this exposed surface is ornamented with a pattern. The 

 feature that most attracts attention on inspecting a collection of 

 earwigs is, however, the forceps, and this is the most marked 

 collective character of the group. These curious organs exhibit 

 a very great variety ; in some cases they are as long as the whole 

 of the rest of the body, in others they are provided with tynes ; 

 sometimes they are quite asymmetrical, as in Anisolabis tasmanica 

 (Fig. 113); in Opisthocosmia cervipyga, and many others they 

 are curiously distorted in a variety of ways. The classification 

 of the earwigs is still in a rudimentary state ; the number of 

 joints in the antennae, the form of the feet, and (in the terres- 

 trial forms) the shape of the rudimentary wing-cases and wings 

 being the characters that have been made most use of by syste- 



