Earwig facts: Will they crawl in your EARS? | Animal Fact Files

Earwigs have a bad reputation. It's commonly believed that these animals purposefully crawl into human ears in an attempt to lay their eggs on a person's brain. This is ridiculous. While it is technically possible for an earwig to crawl into a person's ear, and it has been documented to have happened in the past, this is an exceptionally rare occurrence! And they definitely aren't interested in laying eggs in your brain, they would rather lay them in dirt! Earwig moms are excellent parents and care for their young to ensure they have a higher chance for survival. Their pincers look menacing but they aren't venomous. Earwigs are harmless to humans, though they can sometimes bite with an unpleasant pinch to the skin.

Scientific Name: Order - Dermaptera
Range: worldwide except Antarctica
Size: up to 3 inches (7.6cm) including cerci (most under an inch in length)
Diet: organic debris, plant material, animals like caterpillars and other inverts
Lifespan: 1 year

✨ Animal Fact Files Patreon Supporters get early access to videos, get their video requests moved to the top of our request list, and more! ✨
👉   / animalfactfiles  

You can learn more on:
Twitter -   / animalfactfiles  
Facebook -   / animalfactfiles  

---

Image and Video Credits:
Chris Nolan -    • Ant dragging an Earwig  
Alan Couch -    • A Large Earwig  


Jean and Fred - https://flickr.com/photos/jean_hort/3...
zaphad1 - https://flickr.com/photos/25797459@N0... ; https://flickr.com/photos/25797459@N0...
Bob Vincent - https://vimeo.com/22427920
Peter Kuttner - https://vimeo.com/110875051


Pristurus - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Bugboy52.40 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ea...
Nabokov - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ne...


sqwvplus - https://freesound.org/people/sqwvplus...


Research Credits:
https://texasinsects.tamu.edu/dermaptera
http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/choate/derm...
https://www.amentsoc.org/insects/fact...
https://www.ento.csiro.au/education/i...
http://tolweb.org/Dermaptera
https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-a...
https://blog.nature.org/science/2020/...
https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/...
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/...