EARWIG. 
298 
remarked this peculiarity, informs us that at the 
beginning of June, he found under a stone a female 
earwig, attended by a little progeny which evidently 
appeared to be her own. They continued near her, 
and frequently ran under her belly, where she 
brooded over them as a hen does over her chickens. 
M. de Geer conveyed them all into a box of fresh 
earth, and observes that they did not enter the 
earth, but thrust themselves under the belly and 
between the legs of the mother, who frequently 
permitted them to remain there for an hour at a 
time. Ripe apple seemed to be a favourite food 
with this little family ; and a piece of it put into 
the box was immediately attacked by all of them. 
We have already observed, that when the earwigs 
are first hatched they strongly resemble the parent; 
nevertheless M. de Geer remarks, that when the 
young earwigs changed their skins (which hap- 
pened in the course of a week after he noticed them), 
though the alteration in their figure was hardly 
perceptible, yet it appeared to bring them nearer to 
the perfect insect. 
This gentleman has given us another instance of 
the attachment of this insect to her brood, particu- 
larly during incubation. About the beginning of 
April he found a female under some stones sitting 
over a heap of eggs with the greatest care. He took 
the whole of them up together, and, having placed 
them in a box partly filled with fresh earth, scat- 
tered the eggs up and down in it. This put the 
parent to confusion: however, she soon removed 
