EARWIGS 109 



One theory derives it from the insect's alleged 

 habit of seeking an asylum in the human ear ; 

 another from the fact that the wings are 

 shaped like an ear. That the earwig does 

 invade the human ear cannot be doubted. 

 I myself was told by a medical man that he 

 had more than once removed from thence a 

 dead earwig. Of course, the stories of their 

 penetrating the brain are old wives' fables. 

 Apart from the discomfort caused by such 

 lodgers, there is no harm which can result 

 from their invasion. Another species, much 

 rarer, the Lesser Earwig (Labia minor), Plate 

 IX., Fig. 1, may be distinguished from the 

 other by its small size. It must be remem- 

 bered that amongst insects, difference of size 

 usually implies difference of species, because 

 an insect never grows after it has attained its 

 perfect form. Thus the lesser earwig would 

 never grow to be as large as a common ear- 

 wig. It is one point to be placed to the 

 credit of the much-abused earwigs, that the 

 mother attends to her eggs until they are 

 hatched, and to the young after they emerge. 

 This trait is rare among insects. 



The cockroaches are most unpleasant 



