Earwigs fact sheet

What are earwigs?

Earwigs, also known as ‘pincher bugs’, are from the Dermaptera order of insects.  Derma  means skin and  ptera  means wings, however, not all earwigs have wings. They get the nickname ‘pincher bugs’ because they have very hard pincers attached to a flexible abdomen.

Earwigs come in a variety of colours including shades of brown, black, yellow and red.

It is likely that the name earwig comes from a combination of old english words ‘eard’ – soil – and ‘wicga’ –insect – rather than the fictional story that they can crawl into your ear and lay eggs in your brain.

Earwig

Earwigs average about 2 centimetres in length.

How many types of earwig are there?

Australia has approximately 100 earwig species both native and introduced. Native species include the brown earwig. There are about 2000 species worldwide.

European earwigs are an introduced species found all over Australia.

Do the males and females look different?

Both male and female earwigs have segmented abdomens. Segmented means divided into parts. Males have 10 visible segments while females have only 8. The pincers on a male curve inwards. Female pincers are straighter.

A male earwig with curved pincers.

Where do earwigs live?

Earwigs live in the warmer, more humid climates of Australia. They like dark, damp environments. A common place to find earwigs is in decaying wood and plant material, under  leaf litter  and the top layer of soil where they can dig out small nests for their eggs.

Earwigs feed on decaying vegetable matter such as this rotting log.

What do earwigs eat?

Earwigs are omnivorous. They feed on dead or decaying plants and animals. Some earwigs are predators and use their pincers to catch and hold small insects before eating them. Many species of earwig are considered pollinators because flower pollen is on the menu too.

Earwigs play an important role as ‘cleaners’ in the ecosystem, eating dead plants and animals.

What eats earwigs?

Earwigs are prey for animals such as birds, insectivores, spiders, lizards, frogs, centipedes and assassin bugs.

Earwigs are an important part of the food web.

How are earwigs adapted to their environment?

Earwigs have long, flat bodies which help them to crawl into cracks and crevices. They are nocturnal scavengers and move quickly to avoid being eaten.

Earwigs use their pincers as a form of defence and for attacking prey. They will use them to pinch humans if disturbed but it is a weak pinch if they can manage it at all. Earwigs are not poisonous but can produce a foul smell as a form of defence.

Not all earwigs have wings and they are only used for short bursts of flight to escape predators, jump short distances or if they fall.

Earwigs have flexible bodies which they use to get into tiny spaces.

How do earwigs reproduce and what is their life cycle?

Female earwigs lay a clutch of 20 to 40 eggs in wood hollows, under leaves or in the top layer of soil.

The eggs hatch approximately 7 days later. Nymphs – baby earwigs – are born with the general shape of adults but are lighter in colour. They will moult 4 to 5 times before they are considered to be an adult. Moult means to shed skin and shell to make way for new growth.

Female earwigs, unlike most of the insect world, will take care of their young until the second or third moult. After that, they become independent. Earwigs live for approximately one year.

Female earwig with eggs and newly hatched juvenile earwigs.

Earwig life cycle

Related fact sheets

More invertebrate fact sheets

• Invertebrate fact sheets – overview
• Insects fact sheet – broader overview of insects and their body parts (earwigs are an insect group).
• Crustaceans fact sheet – pill bugs and slaters that share leaf-litter and log habitats.
• Myriapods fact sheet – centipedes and millipedes that may prey on earwigs in leaf litter and under logs.
• Arachnids fact sheet – spiders and other arachnids that feed on insects such as earwigs.

Habitats and ecosystems

• Leaf litter habitat fact sheet
• Field of Mars Reserve fact sheet

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