The Earwig 
13 
kinds are of varied shades of brown, yellow, 
or red. One species peculiar to South 
America is white. 
Male and Female. — Differences in the 
male and female are evident on close 
examination. In the male insect the 
forceps are more fully developed and the 
curious abdomen in the male insect has 
nine distinct segments, whereas in the 
female but seven are evident. The wings of 
the earwig are of exceptional beauty, 
and yet there are not a few people who do 
not know that they even possess wings. 
The wings are quite astonishingly large, 
very delicate, and fine, as you might almost 
guess when you examine the small tightly 
fitting case with which they are enveloped 
when packed away. The ordinary earwig 
of which we are speaking has very seldom 
been observed to make any use of its 
wings at all. The other common British 
species, “Labia Minor,” is often seen 
on the wing and so not infrequently is 
mistaken for quite another insect. If you 
wish to examine the wings of an earwig 
and to verify what has been said of their 
beauty, when you have caught the insect 
