A Busy Lady

  Because of their name and a bunch of false information, earwigs get a bad rap.  Yes, they do munch on flowers and vegetables but the harm they do in the garden is nothing compare to the accusations that have followed them throughout the ages.  Contrary to most folks, the critters do NOT intentionally get into your ears and if one does mistakenly crawl in seeking a dark spot to hide, it will NOT burrow into your brain.  I have heard all sorts of "absolutely true stories" about so-and-so's great aunt's next door neighbor's sister's kid who had one eat his brain and how now the kid is such a brat!  Yep, it didn't happen.  Nope, the earwig is not to blame for the kid's behavior problems.  The name earwig comes from the Old English word earwicga which roughly means ear creature (once again, not related to its supposed attraction to human ears).  The name refers to a pair of hindwings that are folded beneath the forewings.  The way they are folded resembles ears.  (Now, go figure!)  

  Actually, the earwigs are pretty fascinating critters once you get to watching them.  Son and I were replacing some boards in the board path that leads to the pier when we found an earwig.  While there is nothing unusual about finding a critter on the Bayou, this one was interesting enough for us to stop work and watch it for a while.  This was a mother earwig and she was caring for her nest of eggs.  Earwigs are one of the very few non-social (meaning they do not hive together) insects that actually care for their offspring.  A mother earwig will spend the winter caring for her eggs and then continue the care after they hatch.  Before the eggs hatch, the mother will clean the eggs by licking them, turn them in the nest and protect them from predators.  After they hatch, she continues the care and protection until they are old enough to be on their own.  Once they do their final moult before becoming adults, however, they best leave the nest in a hurry.  At that time, Mama Earwig suddenly loses all maternal instincts and the little ones start to look a lot like breakfast.

  Son and I talked a while about Mama Earwig and the damage that all of the little critters would soon wreak on the garden but neither of us had the heart to smash the sweet little family.  This board would have to wait before being replaced with a new one.  We carefully put the board back down atop the nest and let the family reside in peace.  Mama Earwig did not have to worry about us harming her or her eggs.