_Family 7, Forficulidæ._--The insects of this family present a great
uniformity of structure. They are, for the most part, of nocturnal
habits, concealing themselves during the day in crevices under the bark
of trees, or in the ground under stones and leaves, etc.
Their food consists almost exclusively of vegetable substances, and are
sometimes very injurious to flowers and fruit.
It has been said, however, that they also feed largely on plant lice or
aphides, which, if true, give them a very redeeming quality.
The female earwig deposits her eggs under a stone in some cavity in the
ground often dug out by her own labour.
Unlike most other insects, the female does not perish as soon as she
has laid her eggs, but lives to behold her offspring, brooding over
them almost like a hen. But it is distressing to learn that if the
mother should die she is immediately devoured by her progeny.
The _Euplexoptera_ are widely distributed over the surface of the
earth. The tropical regions, however, can hardly claim any great
predominance over more temperate climates as regards either the number
or size of the species.
The largest European species (_Forficesita gigantea_), which is an
inhabitant of some parts of England, measures about an inch in length
of the body.
Our common Earwig (_Forficula auricularia_) is not only found all over
Europe, but apparently throughout the greater part of the eastern
hemisphere.
[Illustration: Fig. 77.--Forficula Auricularia.]
Another British species, viz., the little Earwig (_Labia minor_), is
also of wide distribution.
The earwig derives its name from its occasionally creeping into the
human ear in search of concealment. This has been denied by many
authors, but we have personally known instances of earwigs entering the
ears of persons lying asleep in fields in the summer time. The insect
can be driven out immediately by pouring a little oil into the ear.
Some writers have attempted to prove that the name earwig is a
corruption of "earwing," in allusion to the shape of the hind wings;
really a very ingenious idea, but incorrect nevertheless.