Earworm [1] [2] , European earwig , or pincer [3] ( lat. Forficula auricularia ) is an omnivorous insect from the order of the Coleoptera . Often settles in rural areas next to human housing, where it harms agricultural and horticultural crops. On the other hand, it destroys other garden pests, such as aphids . Active at dusk and at night, during the day hiding in dark and damp shelters. Able to fly, but makes it extremely rare. The folk name is dvuvostok, but the real dvukhvostok is a completely different squad of the class of the sub - maxillary . Earwigs are also sometimes called tweezers.
Earworm |
Female. Distinctive feature: almost straight fortseps |
Scientific classification |
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No rank : | Bilateral symmetric |
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International Scientific Name |
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Forficula auricularia Linnaeus (1758) |
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DescriptionThe body is oblong, flattened, painted chestnut brown on top and dark brown on bottom. The head is heart-shaped, sloping down, separated from the body by a thyroid pronotum . A filiform antennae extending from the head, consisting of 11–14 segments, about two-thirds in length from the body length [4] . The eyes are very small - less than the distance from the eyes to the rear edge of the head [5] . The front wings are sclerotized , that is, they are short, devoid of venation, leathery sheaths, called tagmen. Hind wings wide, membranous, with radially arranged veins. In flight, the earwig holds the body almost vertically [6] . Folding the wings, she twists them under the sheaths twice. Despite the developed wings, the insect uses them extremely reluctantly, preferring to move with the help of limbs [7] . Legs of running type, dirty-yellow, consist of three segments [8] . The length of adult females is 12–14 mm, males 13–17 mm [9] .
The brightest detail of the body structure is the forceps (a pair of ticks, or forceps) at the end of the body, which are modified cerci , posterior antennae in some groups of insects. Fortsepses are developed in both sexes, but in males they are larger, endowed with teeth on the inside and rounded like ticks , whereas in females they are almost straight and smooth. The insect uses this body both to keep the prey and to protect it. If you stretch your hand to the earwig, it will arch the back of the torso and expose the forceps to meet the danger. Earwig can pierce the skin to the blood, but the person bites only for self-defense [2] . Males of the ordinary earwig are polymorphic : there are individuals with different mass, width of the head, sizes of forceps [10] .
SpreadThe homeland of an ordinary earwig is Europe , Western Asia, and possibly North Africa [11] . In Europe, it is distributed almost everywhere. On the territory of Russia it is found east to Omsk and Kamen-na-Obi , in Kazakhstan to the Volga and the Urals interfluve, south to the east to Ashgabat and the Kopetdag mountains [12] . In addition to the natural range, the insect was introduced in North America , Australia and New Zealand . On the American continent, the earwig was first recorded in Seattle in 1907, from where it quickly spread to the northern part of the continent south to southern California , Arizona and North Carolina [13] [14] .
LifestyleDuring daylight hours, it hides in hard-to-reach damp and cool places: folds of faded leaves, inflorescences, wood crevices, under stones and fallen trees [15] [16] [17] . At night, crawls out of shelters and goes in search of food. Weather conditions have a significant effect on insect activity. Most mobile on warm days when the difference between day and night temperatures is reduced to a minimum. It prefers cloudy and windy weather, but at high relative humidity it prefers to remain in shelter [18] .
Omnivorous , when eating animal food is considered a scavenger rather than a predator [19] [20] . It feeds with aphids , spider mites and other inactive invertebrates at all stages of development, as well as their remains. It damages bees by climbing hives and eating up to 300 mg of honey and perga at a time [21] .
In addition to animal feed, it feeds on various parts of plants, pollen, lichens , mosses , algae [22] . Able to cause significant damage to agricultural and flower crops, especially in dry warm years [21] . It eats the pulp of the fruit of trees and shrubs: apples , pears , peaches , cherries , and black currants [16] [23] . Earwig is often unable to gnaw through the tough protective skin and first of all chooses cracked, over-ripe fruits, as well as those damaged by birds and other fruit lovers, or that have fallen to the ground. In addition, she often rests on the base of a fetus covered with a sheet and leaves on it multiple excrements in the form of black dots [9] . In the years of high activity, significant damage can be caused to garden crops, in the leaves of which earwigs leave small holes. The authors list many cultivated plants, among which are such ordinary ones as peas , beets , cabbage , celery , cucumber , lettuce , potatoes , tomato and rhubarb [24] [25] . Insects are able to survive for a long time in barns and packages with harder grains , as well as hops [26] .
Life cycleDuring the first year of life, the earwig passes through all stages of development - eggs, larvae and adult insects (the so-called incomplete transformation ) [16] .
Mating occurs at the end of summer or at the beginning of autumn. After a couple of months after that, the female independently or together with her partner digs a hole in a wet substrate. This recess, which serves as both a winter shelter and a place for a nest, may consist of one or several tunnels about 5–8 cm long (occasionally up to 15 cm) [16] , with single or multiple exits to the surface. At the end of the burrow, the female expands and, at the end of winter, lays eggs in it. Having finished laying, the female stays close and becomes aggressive towards the male and other earwigs, drives them away. A laboratory experiment in a terrarium , conducted by employees of the University of British Columbia , showed that the female constantly takes care of laying, moves the eggs within the nest, choosing a more humid place. When the employee pushed one or more eggs to the side, the female pushed them back into a common pile. An analysis of the data obtained showed that the female was literally on eggs 89% of the time, only occasionally leaving the nest [27] [28] .
Winter laying usually consists of 30-60 eggs. In early spring, the female can lay again, this time no more than 20 eggs. The eggs are yellowish-white, oval in shape, measuring about 1.13 × 0.85 mm. By the end of the incubation , which lasts from 56 to 85 days, they swell from moisture and become almost twice as long [29] [24] [25] .
According to data from British Columbia, the larvae of the first litter are born in May, the second - in June. In both cases, by August insects reach an adult state, over the summer, four times replacing the skin (molting). From the very beginning, the larvae resemble adult individuals, but differ from them in smaller sizes (both in general and in proportions) and in color. Newly hatched earwigs are greyish-brown, about 4.2 mm long. At this age, the wings are almost undeveloped, the forceps are barely noticeable. With each molt, the body color darkens, the organs gradually take on the outlines of an adult insect. Intermediate stages between molting continue 18-24, 14-21, 15-20 and about 21 days. By August, when the mating season begins, the young individuals are ready to breed. It is noted that warm weather contributes to a more rapid development of the insect at the stage of the egg and larva [24] [25] .
Earwig and ManThe name of the insect indicates an old belief that the earwig is able to crawl into the ear of a sleeping person and gnaw through the eardrum [2] . Interestingly, the same explanation is given not only to the Russian, but also to the English name of the insect - earwig [30] . The insect does choose secluded places for rest, but the cases of their detection in the ears and other human organs are practically unknown and unlikely [2] [30] [31] . English-language sources believe that with a high degree of probability there was a displacement of the original word ear-wing (“wing in the shape of the ear”), which indicated the shape of the back wing unusual for insects [30] , resembling an auricle.
Notes- ↑ Striganova B. R. , Zakharov A. A. Pyatiazychny dictionary of animal names: Insects (Latin-Russian-English-German-French) / . - M .: RUSSO, 2000. - p. 35. - 1060 copies. - ISBN 5-88721-162-8 .
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Gilyarov et al., 1984 , p. 195.
- ↑ Kleschak // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : 86 t. (82 t. And 4 add.). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
- ↑ Buckell, 1929 , p. 20.
- ↑ Steinmann, 1993 , p. 604.
- ↑ Gorbatovsky, 2014 , p. 24
- ↑ Goe, 1925 .
- ↑ Steinmann, 1993 , p. 606.
- ↑ 1 2 Alford, 2014 , p. 26
- ↑ Lamb & Robert, 1976 , pp. 69-75.
- ↑ Clausen, 1978 , p. 15-18.
- ↑ Steinmann, 1993 , p. 607.
- ↑ Weems & Skelley, 1989 .
- ↑ Weems, HV Jr .; Skelley, PE Featured Creatures: European Earwig ( Neopr .) . University of Florida Food and Agricultural Services: Department of Entomology and Nematology. The appeal date is December 8, 2014.
- ↑ Fulton, 1924 .
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Gilyarov et al., 1984 , p. 196.
- ↑ Crumb et al., 1941 , pp. 1–76.
- ↑ Chant & McLeod, 1952 .
- ↑ Kaufman et al., 2012 , p. 332.
- ↑ Jacobs, S. Entomological Notes: European Earwigs ( Neopr .) . Penn State – College of Agricultural Sciences. The date of circulation is December 14, 2014. Archived December 14, 2014.
- ↑ 1 2 Gorbatovsky, 2014 , p. 20.
- ↑ Crumb et al., 1941 .
- ↑ Carroll & Hoyt, 1984 .
- ↑ 1 2 3 Capinera, 2008 , p. 1369.
- 2 1 2 3 Capinera, John L. European Earwig Forficula auricularia Linnaeus (Insecta: Dermaptera: Forficulidae) (Unidentified) . University of Florida - UF / IFAS Extension (December 2010). The appeal date is December 15, 2014.
- ↑ Helyer et al., 2014 , p. 94.
- ↑ Lamb, 1976 .
- ↑ Costa, 2006 , p. 58.
- ↑ Buxton & Madge, 1974 .
- ↑ 1 2 3 Helyer et al., 2014 , p. 93.
- ↑ Steyskal et al., 1986 .
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