Euborellia annulipes
Drees, Texas A&M University Department of Entomology
Ring-legged Earwigs are a
very common insect in our area. They are usually between 1/2
inch and one inch long. Females are slightly larger than
males. These insects are brown
to black and have yellow legs with brown rings on them.
Their antennae
are black with white rings. They have no wings. Earwigs live in gardens
and fields.
They are nocturnal, so they hide under rocks, logs, and
plants during the day. Paul Choate, Entomology
and Nematolgy Dept., University of Florida Paul Choate, Entomology
and Nematolgy Dept., University of Florida Ring-legged Earwigs lay
small white eggs about 1/16 inch long. One female earwig
will lay up to seven clutches
(batches) of eggs, with about 50 eggs in each. She lays them
in the soil or under debris
such as dead leaves. After she lays her eggs, she chases the
male earwig away. Eggs hatch in about 17
days, unless it is near winter. If the weather is getting
cold, the eggs won't hatch until the next Spring, when the
temperature is warm again. The mother earwig stays with her
eggs until they hatch, even if she has to wait through an
entire winter. Before eggs hatch, the
mother earwig protects them from mites, fungi,
other earwigs, and any other predators.
She often cleans them or turns them. Baby earwigs are called
nymphs.
Nymphs look a lot like adult
earwigs and eat the same foods, including: aphids, isopods,
leaf hoppers, caterpillars, beetle larvae,
centipedes, other small insects, some plants, and ground
litter (old plant stems and leaves). They are vicious
predators who can eat animals larger than
themselves. Colin L. Miller, at
www.geocities.com/colin_l_miller/index.html
