EARWIG
Life History and Habits
The female lays 50-90 shiny white eggs, each about 1.5 mm in length, in the ground in the fall. Females do not die at once, but hibernate, and in the spring attend the larvae in their early stages. Many hibernating females and their eggs have been found 5-8 mm below the soil surface. Rich garden soil with a southern exposure is a favorite place for egg deposition. Young earwig larvae resemble adults, but they are lighter in color, have no wings and only delicate, simple, slightly curved forceps or pinchers on the posterior end. Some females may produce a second brood in the spring. Most males die early in the spring after being driven from the nests. Females die before midsummer. Immatures of both broods become adults between late August and early October, when fresh male and female pairs enter the soil and construct their nests. The principal enemy of F. auricularia in the United States is a tachinid fly Bigonicheta spinipennis (Meigen). Several species of parasitic flies are natural enemies of this earwig in Europe.
Hosts and Habitat
The European earwig feeds on other insects, plants, ripe fruit, and garbage. Plants that it feeds on include clover, dahlias, zinnias, butterfly bush, hollyhock, lettuce, strawberry, celery, potatoes, roses, seedling beans and beets, and tender grass shoots and roots. It damages sweetcorn by feeding on the silks (Getzendaner 1966). It is nocturnal, hiding during the day and roaming at night to find food and water. Around homes it hides in garden plants, in shrubbery, along fences, in woodpiles, at the base of trees, and behind loose boards on buildings. While it is chiefly an "outdoor insect", its habit of hiding among petals or leaves of plants, or inside fruit, allows it to be brought frequently into the home.New colonies tend to build to very high population levels with consequent competition for food and shelter, followed by gradual decline. It is a nuisance in and about homes and gardens. It is much disliked because of its repulsive appearance to many people, its foul odor, and its habit of feeding at times in kitchen refuse or hiding in a wet mop. It may be destructive to many plants and flowers, but it is omnivorous, feeding on both plant and animal material, and it may be beneficial as other insects make up a large part of the food supply.