September 7, 1871. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GARDENEE. 



181 



malignity, well, then, in that sense they are malignant. Shy, 

 too ! yes, indeed, the epithet seema to have been applied to 

 them by some as it it constituted a sort of redeeming quality 

 in their character, yet it will be thought by most that the 

 shyness of an earwig makes it more detestable. A set of de- 

 termined skulkers are they, sneaking into all sorts of hiding- 

 plaeea during the day, when they will occasionally eat, if they 

 can do so unobserved, but their grand feeding-time is at night ; 

 then they pour forth to commit ravages which are sometimes 

 ■charged upon any but the real culprits. la the summer, as 

 we know, their retreats are various ; one can hardly pick a 

 •ourled-np leaf without the expectation that it may oontaia one 

 of them. Especially do they resort to the deserted habitations 

 of the Tortrices, and they cluster about leaves and shoots which 

 ■have been contorted by aphides. This, I have thought, may 

 have arisen from some liking on their part to the secretion to 

 which ants are so partial, for earwigs have a penchant for 

 ■anything sweet, as is the aphis honeydew. A garden insect, 

 •truly, but not at all exclusively so ; the species is only too 

 ■plentiful in hedgerows, meadows, and dry woods, as ento- 

 mologists who beat shrubs and trees for insects know full well. 

 Nor do they refuse to reside upon open and healthy places, 

 selecting the driest spots, as the Volunteers have experienced 

 to their annoyance when encamped upon Wimbledon Common, 

 though some of us who regard these individuals as intruders 

 there, and consider that they are spoiling one of our best 

 habitats near London. for natural history objects, feel a sort of 

 -' mischief-joy," as Carlyle calls it, in their being thus ear- 

 wigged ; for, it must be remarked, that earwigs, like fleas, 

 know nothing about respect of persons. The fact that a Peach 

 is about to be presented to a prince will not prevent an earwig 

 'Irom eating his fill of the pulp, though he would certainly with- 

 ■draw in due time, having had warning, since it must be quite 

 as disagreeable to be bitten in half by royal as by vulgar teeth. 

 This reminds me that I was ouce asked what an earwig tasted 

 like, and I fancied the querist was contemplating some scheme 

 by which these insects might be utilised, and like the oriental 

 locust, served-up in some culinary compound (not a bad plan 

 that of eating-up a garden pest were it palateable) ; but I 

 really could not state from recollection, and in such a case it 

 is far better for anyone to try the experiment in 2iroprid persona, 

 i have since been informed that earwigs have an unpleasant 

 peculiar taste — raw ; possibly cooking might modify this. 



The name applied to the species before us has been the sub- 

 ject of much speculation. It has long been a popular belief 

 ■that earwigs have a predilection for entering the human ear, 

 and hence, so some say, arose the designation. It is not merely 

 an English idea, for in France it is the Ear-piercer (Peree- 

 oreille), and in Germany, the Ear-worm (Ohr-wurm), so that if 

 Britons take up foolish notions they are not singular in so 

 doing. Yet others will have it that with us the name was 

 originally ' Ear-wing," because the delicate membrane of this 

 organ when fully expanded resembles the human ear in shape, 

 though this explanation is doubtful, because at the time when 

 it was first distinguished by an Eoglish name, people were not 

 ■generally observant of peculiarities in the structure of what 

 were deemed despicable creatures, and a century or two ago, 

 probably, scarcely anybody knew that an earwig had wings, as 

 it was never seen to use them. According to Dr. Johnson, the 

 ■Saxon " rigga," a verb meaning to " bore," or " pierce," is the 

 root of the second syllable, thus rendering our vernacular 

 ■name an analogue of the others. Still the notion as to the 

 earwig's hostile intentions towards our organs of hearing is 

 baseless. Every schoolboy will shortly be awar?, it is to be 

 hoped, in these advancing days, that the drum of the ear 

 affords no passage for an enemy — no, not for a mite, whereby 

 it could enter the brain and cause death or insanity, as is said. 

 That, considering the well-known propensity of these insects 

 to seek concealment, it is quite likely when persons have lain 

 down in places where they abound, that one might lodge in the 

 folds of the ear or enter the passage, we can readily admit. 

 Two instances have recently been recorded, and in each the 

 insect was easily removed from the ear. One of the two 

 persons suffered great pain for a short time, which extended 

 down one side to the feet. The other individual was most 

 annoyed by the tremendous noise produced by the motion of 

 the creature in the ear. The location of the earwig, too, 

 amongst other insects has been a matter of dispute. The 

 wings, which are moat beautiful, have the chief nervnres ar- 

 ranged in the form of radii, which spread from a common 

 ipoint near the anterior margin, and the membrane is so deli- 

 •cate that very tender treatment is necessary when it is to be 



examined. These wings are paoked-up most neatly, being 

 folded transversely as well as longitudinally, and hence West- 

 wood placed Forficula auricularia in an order called Euplex- 

 aptera (well-folded wings). But Newman thinks otherwise, and 

 we find it ranked with the Orthoptera in his little book, the 

 " Insect-Hunters," where he describes the earwigs as 



" Feeding on tlie lovely petals 

 Of nur best and choicest flowers. 

 Hiding in all sorts of crannies 

 From the sunshine in the day-time. 

 Crawling, feeding in the night-time ; 

 Their autennaB many-jointed, 

 Gently tapering to the summit ; 

 The fore-wings aro square and shortened. 

 Leaving all the body naked, 

 But the hind-wings, quite transparent, 

 Like a lady's fan are folded 

 Neatly up beoeath the fore-wings, 

 Very beautiful to gaze on. 

 All the legs are very simple. 

 And the feet are all three-jointed ; 

 At the tail we find a weapon 

 Very like a pair of pincers, 

 And with this 'tis said earwigs 

 Open and fold-up the bind-wings ; 

 You must watch them and observe it ; 

 I have never had that pleasure." 



Nor have I, and if it is the habit of some of the earwigs to open 

 and close their wings with the forceps, it seems a rather useless 

 proceeding, sines these insects never fly. A gentleman who 

 made repeated observations upon them in a district where they 

 were so numerous as to be denominated a "plague," never 

 saw one actually on the wing, though he thinks that occasion- 

 ally when an earwig makes a leap, he may use his wings to 

 keep himself steady. He notes also — that is, this observer, 

 not the earwig, that when crawling up a wall or a curtain, they 

 will suddenly jump to the ground should they apprehend 

 danger, and sometimes, as he suggests, this is done in sport ! 

 A comical-earwig ! Well, perhaps such a thing may be. 



But the effects of the jaw-work of these creatures in our 

 gardens does not make ths horticulturist feel at all comic ; if he 

 laughs it must surely be according to the common expression, 

 " on the other side of his mouth." They attack fruit, wall 

 fruit particularly, and of wall fruit liking best the Peach and 

 Apricot ; but in some seasons Pears and Apples are devoured 

 extensively by them. Earwigs visit also the kitchen garden, 

 and have been noticed to swarm upon Celery. The flower 

 beds receive no better treatment from them ; in some instances 

 the whole plant will be attacked and present a mere skeleton 

 of fibres, as the result of an inroad of a few nights. When 

 less numerous, or less ravenous, earwigs confine themselves 

 more especially to the flowers, the Dahlia being so exceedingly 

 prized by them that the " show " which the cultivator would 

 gladly make and for which he has long prepared, is sadly 

 marred through the earwigs. It is to diminish the number of 

 these that the Londoner has for years past been celebrated for 

 adorning (?) his garden with inverted lobsters' claws mounted 

 upon sticks, and which a foreigner is said to have regarded as 

 an indication of the peculiarities of cockney taste in the matter 

 of ornamentation. Small flower-pots are now much more fre- 

 quently used for the same purpose. One of the most effective 

 modes of getting rid of them is certainly this plan of providing 

 them with hiding-places, out of which they must be shaken in 

 the morning. Yes, and killed, and there is a difficulty. Ear- 

 wigs have very tough constitutions. Drowning them is not easy, 

 for they can swim ; out them in half, and life remains in the 

 two portions of the body for some hours ; even crushing does 

 not immediately kill unless done very thoroughly indeed ; and 

 then, too, if you have a number to deal with, while you are 

 operating upon a part the rest are rapidly escaping. Scalding 

 them by boiling water is the best mode of disposing of them. 

 Poisoning earwigs has also been tried, but it is reported that 

 though they eat greedily enough certain "vermin destroyers " 

 when mixed with sugar, the compounds did not seem to dis- 

 agree with their digestion. Professor Westwood recommends 

 as excellent traps small pieces of elder-twigs with the pith 

 scooped out, which may be laid upon flower beds or suspended 

 against walls or trees. Traps are also made on the principle of 

 those used to destroy cockroaches — that is, with a cone of glass 

 in the centre, into which the insects can be snared by means 

 of bread. 



Throughout their larval and pupal stages earwigs are as 

 active as when matured, but have only rudimentary wings and 

 wing-cases. It is to be observed that they do not hesitate to 

 act as cannibals, and the dead or even the sickly individuals 

 fall a prey to their brethren. Let me quote, however, one re- 



