i86 



INSECTS. 



Earwigs. 



germanica) is another imported species, said to have first arrived with the soldiers, 

 returning from the Crimean War, but now plentiful in some houses, especially in 

 bakeries and restaurants. It may be distinguished by its smaller size, and pale 

 yellow-brown colour, with two dark brown bands along the pronotum. Both sexes 

 have wings. In some parts of Central Europe they live in woods, resembling in 

 this respect many other species, including three, belonging to the genus Ectobia, 

 found in woods in England. One of the latter (E. lapponica) enters houses in 

 some parts of Europe. 



The earwigs (Forficulidce), which form the last family of 

 Cursorial Orthoptera, possess distinct characters, and are sometimes 

 treated as a separate order, under the name of Dermaptera. Easily recognised by 

 the narrow body, short, squarely cut horny elytra, and the pincer-like appendages 

 of their abdomen, these insects are further distinguished by the intricate folding 



of the hind - wings. The 

 elytra, or fore -wings, do not 

 overlap one another as in 

 most Orthoptera, but, like 

 those of beetles, simply meet 

 by their edges along the 

 middle line. The hind-wings, 

 which are thin and mem- 

 branous throughout most of 



o 



their extent, are folded, partly 

 like a fan, by means of folds 

 radiating from near the middle 

 of the anterior margin, and 



also transversely. In this way they occupy a small space, and are almost com- 

 pletely covered by the elytra, a tiny piece only being left projecting behind. 

 When fully expanded, each wing is somewhat elliptic in outline, with a straighter 

 anterior and more rounded posterior margin. To these characters it is only 

 necessary to add that the tarsi are three-jointed, and the ligula of the lower lip 

 is deeply divided, to form two long lobes. This family is represented in almost 

 all parts of the world, but not more than two or three species are commonly 

 met with in Britain. The species are distinguished chiefly by the size and 

 shape of their forceps, the length and number of joints of the antennae, the 

 state of development of the wings (which in some species are altogether 

 wanting), the length and shape of the tarsal joints, and other characters. 

 The common earwig (Forficula auricularia), found all over Europe, is the best 

 known species. The female is usually smaller than the male, and her forceps 

 are shorter, and without teeth at the base. Her eggs are laid under stones, 

 moss, or in other such places ; and she watches over them with care. It was 

 long ago observed that the female earwig sits over her eggs, like a hen in a 

 nest, and if they happen to get scattered, gathers them all together again. The 

 young larvae when hatched keep close to her, clustering under her body, and 

 sometimes climbing on to her back. They are not very unlike their mother in 

 appearance, but are without wings, and of much smaller size. The large earwig 



1, MALE OF THE LARGE EARWIG ; 2, THE COMMON EARWIG, WITH 

 AN ENLARGED FIGURE OF THE FLYING INSECT. 



