Earwigs fact sheet | Field of Mars EEC

What are earwigs?

Earwigs are insects in the order Dermaptera. The name Dermaptera comes from Greek words meaning skin wings, because many earwigs have short, leathery forewings. Not all earwigs have wings.

Earwigs are sometimes called pincer bugs because they have a pair of hard forceps, or pincers, at the end of their abdomen. These pincers are used for defence, catching prey and sometimes during courtship.

Earwigs do not crawl into people’s ears to lay eggs. Their English name may have come from old words meaning soil insect, or from the shape of their folded hind wings.

An earwig.

Earwigs are usually small insects that hide during the day.

Where do earwigs live?

Earwigs are found across Australia, with the greatest diversity in warmer tropical and subtropical areas. They live in protected, moist places where they can hide from predators and avoid drying out.

In bushland and gardens, earwigs may be found under leaf litter, bark, logs, rocks, fallen plant material and other natural debris. These small shelters help earwigs stay damp and hidden during the day.

At Field of Mars Reserve, leaf litter, fallen branches, logs and bark provide habitat for many small invertebrates, including earwigs.

European earwigs are introduced insects found in many parts of Australia.

What do earwigs eat?

Earwigs are mostly omnivores. They feed on a wide range of plant and animal material, including dead leaves, decaying plant matter, fungi, dead insects and other small animals.

Some earwigs are predators. They may use their pincers to catch and hold small prey such as soft-bodied insects and caterpillars. Other species can feed on flowers, fruit or seedlings, especially when their populations become large.

This means earwigs can be helpful decomposers and predators, but some introduced species can also become garden or crop pests.

Two earwigs feeding on a rotting log, eating decaying plant material.

Earwigs help recycle nutrients by feeding on dead and decaying material.

What adaptations do earwigs have to help them survive?

Earwigs have long, flattened bodies that help them squeeze into narrow cracks, crevices and spaces under bark. This helps them hide from predators and stay protected during the day.

Their pincers are an important adaptation. Earwigs use them for defence, catching and carrying prey, and sometimes for gripping during mating. Male earwigs usually have more curved pincers, while females usually have straighter pincers.

Many earwigs are nocturnal, which means they are active at night. Moving and feeding in the dark helps them avoid some predators and reduces the risk of drying out. Some species can also produce a strong-smelling defensive fluid when disturbed.

Earwigs have flexible bodies that help them squeeze into small spaces.

What is the life cycle of an earwig?

Earwigs have incomplete metamorphosis. This means their life cycle has three main stages: egg, nymph and adult.

Female earwigs lay their eggs in a sheltered place, such as a small burrow in the soil, under leaf litter or beneath debris. Unlike many insects, female earwigs care for their eggs. They guard them, gather them if they are scattered and clean them to help protect them from fungus.

When the eggs hatch, the young earwigs are called nymphs. Nymphs look like small, pale adults but do not yet have fully developed wings or pincers. They moult several times before becoming adults. In many species, the mother continues to protect the young nymphs until they are ready to leave the nest.

Female earwig with eggs and newly hatched juvenile earwigs.

Earwig life cycle

Do male and female earwigs look different?

Male and female earwigs can often be told apart by their pincers and abdomen. Males usually have more strongly curved pincers, while females usually have straighter pincers.

Males also usually have 10 visible abdominal segments. Females usually have 8 visible abdominal segments. These differences are easier to see in adult earwigs than in young nymphs.

A male earwig with curved pincers.

Why are earwigs important?

Earwigs are part of the bushland food web. They are eaten by birds, frogs, lizards, spiders, centipedes, assassin bugs and other predators.

Many earwigs also help break down dead plants and animals. By feeding on decaying material, they help recycle nutrients back into the soil.

Some native earwigs can be useful predators because they eat other insects. However, some introduced earwigs, such as the European earwig, can become pests when they damage seedlings, flowers, fruit or crops.

Earwigs are part of the food web and provide food for other animals.

How can you help earwigs?

You can help earwigs and other leaf-litter animals by protecting natural habitat. Leave leaf litter, fallen bark, small branches and logs in gardens and bushland where it is safe to do so.

Avoid unnecessary pesticide use, especially in places where invertebrates live and feed. Pesticides can harm many small animals, including helpful decomposers and predators.

If you lift a log, rock or piece of bark to look for insects, put it back carefully. This helps protect the damp, dark shelter that earwigs and other small animals need to survive.

By protecting natural areas you can help earwigs and other leaf-litter animals.

Related fact sheets

More invertebrate fact sheets

• Invertebrate fact sheets – explore more animals without backbones.
• Insects fact sheet – learn about the insect group that includes earwigs.
• Crustaceans fact sheet – learn about slaters and other animals that share damp leaf-litter habitats.
• Myriapods fact sheet – learn about centipedes and millipedes found in soil, leaf litter and under logs.
• Arachnids fact sheet – learn about spiders, mites and other predators that may feed on insects.

Habitats and ecosystems

• Leaf litter habitat fact sheet – learn about the damp ground habitat where many earwigs shelter and feed.
• Rock and log habitats fact sheet – learn how rocks, logs and bark provide shelter for small animals.
• Ground cover habitats fact sheet – learn about low plants and sheltered spaces used by invertebrates.
• Field of Mars Reserve fact sheet – learn about the bushland habitats that support earwigs and other invertebrates.

Food webs and ecological relationships

• Centipede fact sheet – learn about predators that hunt small animals in leaf litter and under logs.
• Birds fact sheet – learn how birds fit into food webs and feed on many small animals.
• Amphibians fact sheet – learn about frogs and other amphibians that feed on small invertebrates.

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