The Earwig With Wings Outstretched 
THE EARWIG 
The Earwig (“Forficula”) and its life story 
is a case of give a dog a bad name, etc. 
It has a bad name in nearly every language 
of Europe, all suggestive of the dreadful 
things which every nursemaid, in every 
generation, has told her young charges this 
fearful creature will do when it has 
penetrated the human ear. Before pro- 
ceeding any further with a description of 
the insect, shall we at once and for ever 
show how this fairy tale has got abroad 
and how absolutely untrue it is ? The 
earwig is very fond of secreting itself in 
any likely cavity, and generally endeavours 
to reach the innermost recesses of such a 
cavity, and much exaggerated tales have 
been told of how the insect has found its 
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