|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
earwig
earwig common name for any of the smooth, elongated insects of the order Dermaptera. Earwigs are small, with pairs of horny, forcepslike abdominal appendages, larger in the male than in the female, and short, leathery forewings that cover the membranous hindwings when folded. Some of the 900 species lack wings; the winged species rarely fly. Many tropical earwigs are brightly colored and carnivorous, even cannibalistic. The common earwig of temperate climates is native to Europe but has spread widely and seems destined to become cosmopolitan in distribution. Most species feed on plants and some are serious pests; others are predaceous or scavengers. The pincers of the male are used in courtship battles with other males. The female is unusual in that it guards its eggs and tends the young, which molt from 4 to 6 times during metamorphosis . The superstition that earwigs crawl through the ears and into the brains of sleeping persons probably derives from their nocturnal habits and the tarry or waxy odor of a secretion of their abdominal glands. A fossil earwig links the order to ancient cockroaches . Earwigs are classified in the phylum Arthropoda , class Insecta, order Dermaptera. |
|
|
Cite this article
"earwig." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "earwig." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-earwig.html "earwig." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-earwig.html |
|
Dermaptera
Dermaptera(earwigs; class Insecta, subclass Pterygota) Order of elongate, flattened, exopterygote insects whose major diagnostic features include cerci which are modified as a pair of forceps on the end of the mobile, telescopic abdomen; and fore wings which are reduced as short tegmina, beneath which the large, membranaceous hind wings are intricately folded, although many species are wingless. Earwigs are interesting in that they show parental care of offspring. They are found in crevices, particularly among plant debris, are nocturnal, and feed on living and dead plant and animal material. Some species are pests, damaging flowers and fruit. About 1200 species have been described, most of them occurring in the tropics and warm-temperate regions.
|
|
|
Cite this article
MICHAEL ALLABY. "Dermaptera." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "Dermaptera." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-Dermaptera.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "Dermaptera." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-Dermaptera.html |
|
earwig
earwig [OE ēarwicga]. The tiny insect with pincer-like appendages protruding from its abdomen, once thought to penetrate a person's head through the ear, was perceived to be a disguise of the devil in Irish folklore. By custom they were to be killed as soon as they were seen. James Joyce draws on earwig lore in constructing the persona of HCE in Finnegans Wake (1939). ModIr. gaillseach; ScG fiolan; Manx gollage; W chwilen glust; Corn. gorlosten; Bret. garlostenn.
|
|
|
Cite this article
JAMES MacKILLOP. "earwig." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JAMES MacKILLOP. "earwig." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O70-earwig.html JAMES MacKILLOP. "earwig." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O70-earwig.html |
|
Dermaptera
Dermaptera An order of insects comprising the earwigs. Earwigs typically have long thin cylindrical bodies with biting mouthparts and a stout pair of curved forceps (cerci) at the tip of the abdomen, used for catching prey and in courtship. Some species have a single pair of wings, which at rest are folded back over the abdomen like a fan; others are wingless. Most earwigs are nocturnal and omnivorous.
|
|
|
Cite this article
"Dermaptera." A Dictionary of Biology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Dermaptera." A Dictionary of Biology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O6-Dermaptera.html "Dermaptera." A Dictionary of Biology. 2004. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O6-Dermaptera.html |
|
earwig
earwig Slender, flattened, brownish-black insect found in crevices and under tree bark. There are some 900 winged and wingless species worldwide. All have a pair of forceps at the hind end of the abdomen. Order Dermaptera; genus Forficula.
|
|
|
Cite this article
"earwig." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "earwig." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-earwig.html "earwig." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-earwig.html |
|
earwig
|
|
|
Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "earwig." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "earwig." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-earwig.html T. F. HOAD. "earwig." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-earwig.html |
|
earwig
ear·wig / ˈirˌwig/ • n. a small elongated insect (order Dermaptera) with a pair of terminal appendages that resemble pincers. |
|
|
Cite this article
"earwig." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "earwig." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-earwig.html "earwig." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-earwig.html |
|
earwigs
earwigs See DERMAPTERA; PYGIDICRANIDAE; LABIDURIDAE; FORFICULIDAE; APACHYIDAE; LABIIDAE; ARIXENIIDAE; HEMIMERIDAE.
|
|
|
Cite this article
MICHAEL ALLABY. "earwigs." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "earwigs." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-earwigs.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "earwigs." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-earwigs.html |
|
earwigs
earwigs See Dermaptera.
|
|
|
Cite this article
"earwigs." A Dictionary of Biology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "earwigs." A Dictionary of Biology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O6-earwigs.html "earwigs." A Dictionary of Biology. 2004. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O6-earwigs.html |
|
earwig
earwig
•big, brig, dig, fig, frig, gig, grig, jig, lig, pig, prig, rig, snig, sprig, swig, tig, trig, twig, Whig, wig
•Liebig • shindig • whirligig
•thingamajig • Pfennig • Gehrig
•thimblerig • Meurig • oilrig • Leipzig
•Schleswig • bigwig • periwig • Ludwig
•earwig • Danzig • Zagazig
|
|
|
Cite this article
"earwig." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "earwig." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-earwig.html "earwig." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-earwig.html |
|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries:
HighBeam™ Research, Inc. © Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
The Encyclopedia.com advertising network includes:
