Europe and western Asia, introduced widely around the world
Fine-art photographic collection
Forficula auricularia
An insect mother that guards, turns and disinfects her eggs — beneath wings folded like microscopic origami.
About this species
European Earwig
Forficula auriculariaLinnaeus, 1758
Information reviewed15 July 2026
Forficula auricularia is the familiar European earwig. Females construct underground nests, guard their egg clutch and repeatedly clean the eggs, while adults possess large fan-shaped hind wings that fold beneath tiny leathery forewings.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Dermaptera · Forficulidae · Forficula
Accepted taxon. · checked 2026-07-15
Europe and western Asia, introduced widely around the worldBroad range and selected reference localities — not a complete occurrence map.
Gardens, farmland, woodland litter, bark crevices and other sheltered humid places.
Mainly nocturnal; hides in tight retreats by day.
Omnivorous: soft plant material, fungi, dead matter and small invertebrates.
Subsocial during maternal care; otherwise not colonial.
What makes this species remarkable?
The mother repeatedly licks and turns her eggs, coating them with antifungal protection that sharply improves their chance of hatching.
Females can distinguish family chemical signatures yet may still adopt and care for foreign eggs placed in the nest.
The broad flying wings collapse beneath tiny forewings through an intricate fan-folding mechanism — natural origami packed into a few millimetres.
More photographs
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