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Dermaptera is the insect order that includes earwigs. They are one of the smallest insect orders, with roughly 2,000 species divided into 12 families. Earwigs feature a pair of forcep-like pincers on their abdomen and membrane wings folded behind short, seldom used forewings, thus the scientific term “skin wings.” Some parasitic groups are microscopic and lack the characteristic pincers. Except for Antarctica, earwigs may be found on every continent.

Earwigs are mostly nocturnal, hiding in tiny, wet crevices during the day and feeding on a variety of insects and plants at night. Earwigs, particularly the common earwig Forficula auricularia, are widely blamed for damage to foliage, flowers, and other crops.

Before becoming adults, earwigs go through five molts in a year. Many earwig species exhibit maternal behavior, which is unusual for insects. Female earwigs may look after their eggs, and even after their young have hatched as nymphs, they will keep an eye on them until their second molt. Sexual dimorphism, such as changes in pincer forms, emerges after the nymphs molt.

Some earwig fossils belong to the extinct suborders Archidermaptera or Eodermaptera, the former of which dates from the Late Triassic and the latter from the Middle Jurassic. Dermaptera are members of the Polyneoptera order, and its closest living relatives are the angel insects of the Zoraptera order.

Earwigs may be found throughout the Americas and Eurasia in large numbers. The common earwig was brought to North America from Europe in 1907, however it is more widespread in the southern and southwestern sections of the country. The spine-tailed earwig (Doru aculeatum) is the only native earwig found in the northern United States. It may be found as far north as Canada, hiding in the leaf axils of emergent plants in southern Ontario wetlands. Other families, like as Forficulidae (which includes Doru and Forficula), Spongiphoridae, Anisolabididae, and Labiduridae, can be found in North America.

In chilly climes, just a few earwigs survive the winter. In forest, pastures, and gardens, they can be found in tight crevices.: 739 About 25 species are found in North America, 45 in Europe (including seven in the United Kingdom), and 60 in Australia.

Most earwigs have a flattened body with an extended body that is 7″50 millimetres (0.28″1.97 in) long. This permits them to fit into narrow crevices, such as beneath bark. The Australian giant earwig (Titanolabis colossea) is the biggest living species, measuring 50 mm (2.0 in) in length, whereas the potentially extinct Saint Helena earwig (Labidura herculeana) was 78 mm (3.1 in). The cerci, or pair of forceps-like pincers on an earwig’s abdomen, distinguishes males from females. Male earwigs have more curled pincers than females. These pincers are used to catch food, defend themselves, and fold their wings under the tegmina, which is quite short. The antennae include at least 10 segments and are thread-like.: 738″739

The forewings are small, oblong leathery plates that, like the elytra of a beetle, are employed to cover the hindwings rather than to fly. The majority of species have short, leathery forewings with extremely thin hindwings, while species of the Arixeniina and Hemimerina suborders (epizoic species, sometimes termed ectoparasites) are wingless and blind, with filiform segmented cerci (today these are both included merely as families in the suborder Neodermaptera). The hindwing is an extremely thin membrane that spreads out like a fan from a point folded underneath the forewing. Despite the fact that most earwigs have wings and can fly, they are rarely observed doing so. The venation of these wings is distinctive, as is the folding pattern that necessitates the employment of the cerci.

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