THE EARWIGS. 



united in pairs, so that there are only two of them ; and the antennae are thread-like, and com- 

 posed of from twelve to forty joints. The characters of the wings have been already described. 

 The tarsi are of three joints. The abdomen is considerably elongated, usually a little inclined behind, 

 and composed of nine segments, of which, however, the seventh and eighth in the females are 

 reduced in size, and concealed by the sixth ; at the extremity, in place of the cerci present in most of 

 the preceding families, there are two large, curved horny pieces forming a pair of forceps, which 

 often attain formidable dimensions, especially in the males. 



The exposed abdominal segments are horny on both surfaces, as in the Brachelytrous Beetles, to 

 which these insects have 

 a certain analogical re- 

 semblance. In both 

 groups the elongated 

 abdomen possesses con- 

 siderable mobility, and 

 is often used to help 

 in packing the wings 

 away beneath the wing- 

 cases. 



The Earwigs are, 

 for the most part, cre- 

 puscular or nocturnal 

 insects, concealing them- 

 selves during the day 

 in crevices, under the 

 bark of old trees, or 

 in the ground, under 

 stones. Their food con- 

 sists almost entirely of 

 vegetable matters, and 

 they are particularly 

 fond of the petals and 

 other parts of flowers, 

 and of the juices of ripe 

 fruit. In consequence 

 of these predilections 

 they are by no means 

 regarded with favour 

 by gardeners, whose 

 choicest productions 

 they often damage and 



destroy ; in fact, without adopting some means of keeping down the number of these little enemies of 

 his the labours of the gardener would often meet with very imperfect success. The lucifugous habits 

 of the insects, which prompt them to hide themselves as soon as they are exposed to the light, 

 suggest what is perhaps the most successful mode of dealing with them, namely, the placing in 

 the immediate vicinity of the scene of their nocturnal depredations of convenient shelters, such as 

 lobster's claws, reversed flower pots, or portions of reeds, into which the Earwigs creep to avoid the 

 light, and from which they are easily dislodged and then destroyed. This same habit of creeping into 

 holes has no doubt given origin to the name of Earwig, and the corresponding names applied to the 

 insects in many languages. It is quite likely that they may often have sheltered themselves in the 

 ears of parsons sleeping in the open air, and such occurrences would easily suggest the idea that they 

 went there for some felonious purpose. The old-fashioned belief that they could in this way penetrate 

 to the brain has, of course, no foundation. 



The female Earwig deposits her eggs undei 1 a stone in some cavity in the ground, often dug out 



COMMON EAKWIGS. 



