Why earwigs have pincers

Usually, earwigs will pinch you if you try to pick them up or handle them. It could also leave a small bruise or welt. Earwigs love to burrow through soil to stay hidden, damp, and cool. You may frequently encounter earwigs while digging in your garden. In some cases, earwigs may burrow into or near the rotting plant material to hide and continue feeding.

Earwigs often hunt and feed on smaller insect pests. They use their forceps to catch and hold their prey before eating them. Earwigs will eat whatever they can find in and around your home.

The European earwig may use these wings to jump small distances, break falls, or escape danger. Unfolded earwig wings are shaped like human ears, which is where some people think the name actually comes from.

Without proper care, this blister could become infected and lead to skin infections like cellulitis. Symptoms of cellulitis include:. In severe cases, a skin infection like this can become septic. This is a life-threatening systemic infection. You could be at risk of sepsis if you have:. Sepsis is a medical emergency that must be treated in the hospital with intravenous antibiotics. You can prevent earwig pinches by avoiding contact with earwigs whenever possible.

If you find them in your home, you can add an extra layer of protection by wearing gloves on your hands before removing them. The best way to prevent earwig pinches elsewhere in your house is to pinpoint any other areas where they might be getting in and taking steps to keep them from entering. They can come into your house through drains and under cracks in windows or doors.

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It might be a stretch to call an abundance of earwigs delightful. But even a pest species can hold surprises for a curious naturalist.

There are 2, species of earwigs worldwide, found on every continent except Antarctica. They make up the insect Order Dermaptera, and are characterized by wings they rarely used and the distinctive pincers that freak out so many people.

Earwigs have been the subject of folklore for centuries. The truth might be even more strange — and startling — than you any tall tale. Read on for a look at earwig parenting, earwig love and the truth about earwigs in your ear.

And more. They eat vegetation as well as other insects. The European earwig is the one you often find scurrying around your basement or in your garden.

This species was first documented in Seattle in , and since then has thrived and spread across the continent. It is considered a household and garden pest, although as invasive species go, the impacts are fairly mild given the abundance of the species.

I know in our backyard garden many leaves are pockmarked from their feeding, and they can really hammer the raspberries. In fact, a Washington State University study found that European earwigs can even be beneficial.

Researchers found that they prey on aphids, significantly reducing damage in commercial apple orchards. Yes, those pincers are kind of creepy more on them in a bit. Mother earwigs carefully guard their eggs, tending them for weeks. They move their eggs to a safe spot.

Researchers have tried putting small wax balls in their midst. The earwig will initially care for them, but the scent is wrong, so they are moved from the nest.

Earwigs also groom the eggs, removing potentially harmful fungi. This maternal care extends once the eggs are hatched. Every researched species of earwig has exhibited maternal care , according to the Journal of Insect Science , although the methods and level of care vary. And one species takes it to an extreme…. Females of the hump earwig guard their young until they are old enough to take care of themselves.

Young hump earwigs get ready to leave the nest by turning mom into dinner. A paper published in the Journal of Ethology demonstrated that this provisioning, as the researchers put it, leads to increased survival once the earwigs depart.

Mom pays the ultimate price, but the next generation is fat and healthy when they face the harsh world outside the nest. Earwig courtship is reported to be a rather involved affair, and includes use of the pincers.

According to the Living with Insects blog , males use their pincers called cerci to compete over females. Females nibble the forceps, presumably receiving some chemosensory input to help them decide. Male earwigs have supersized genitalia, called virga. Research by Yoshitaka Kamimura of the Tokyo Metropolitan University suggested that these elongated virga may do more than inseminate. But those pincers. It makes them look more frightening than they really are.

In truth, the pincers of the common European earwig do little damage. I have picked up hundreds of them this summer; my backyard chickens find them to be a tasty snack.