230 INSECTS AT HOME. 



claws, and similar objects, on the tops of the sticks to which 

 the plants are tied, so that the Earwigs may crawl into them at 

 night and be captured in the morning. There is, however, 

 a neater and more effective mode of catching these insects. 



Instead of capping the tops of the sticks with such unsightly 

 objects as lobster-claws and flower-pots, let a number of tubes 

 be made, about three or four inches in length and half an inch 

 or less in diameter. These may be made from elder branches, 

 from wild hemlock stems, or even from brown paper. One end 

 must be plugged up, and the tube is then hung to the stick 

 with the open end downwards. In the morning, the tubes 

 should be gently lifted from Ihe sticks to which they are sus- 

 pended, the plug removed, and the Earwigs blown into a con- 

 venient vessel, from which they can be thrown into boiling 

 water. The plug is then replaced, and the tube allowed to 

 hang in its former place. 



These insects are able to devour both animal and vegetable 

 food, though they seem to prefer the latter. They are said to 

 enter the nests of certain solitary bees and to feed upon the 

 larvae ; and De Geer remarked that the young Earwigs which 

 he watched not only ate the bodies of their brethren who died, 

 but ill repaid the watchful care of their mother by devouring 

 her dead body. 



Only a few species of Earwig are known in this country, and 

 none of them attain any great size. The Gtiant Earwig, the 

 largest and rarest of these insects, is represented on Plate VII. 

 Fig. 1. Its name is Labidura gigantea, and, as Lord Lytton 

 remarks, ' to the great grief of naturalists, and to the great 

 honour of Providence, is very rarely found.' It was iirst dis- 

 co ved by the Eev. W. Bingley, in 1808, upon the beach near 

 Christchurch. He observed that it seldom quits its place of 

 refuge in the rocks during the daytime, but runs about the 

 sands in search of food after the sun has gone down. 



For many years, no other specimens of this fine insect were 

 discovered, and some doubts were entertained as to the pro- 

 priety of admitting it among the British insects. Of late 

 years, however, its haunts have been known, so that Mr. Bing- 

 ley's specimens were not the only examples. A good specimen 

 in my collection was taken on the sands at Folkestone by a 

 lady who had sufficient observation to see that the insect was a 



