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Animal profile

Common Earwig

Forficula auricularia

InsectaGardens, hedgerows, crop margins and leaf litter, sheltering in crevices by day

Field profile

The common earwig is a slender brown insect with pincer-like cerci at the tail, curved in males and straighter in females. It hides in crevices by day and forages at night on plant material, aphids and detritus. Females guard their eggs and newly hatched young.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2026-03-05

Common Earwig

Earwig mothers clean each egg by hand

Maternal care is uncommon in non-social insects, but a female earwig overwinters with her clutch in a soil chamber, turns and licks the eggs to remove fungal spores, and continues to guard and feed the nymphs after they hatch.

Read with evidence →

Common Earwig | Daily Animal Facts