Mating With Earwigs

Earwig

Earwigs are known for their distinctive cerci that resemble and are called “forceps”. Earwig forceps are handy tools for a variety of tasks. Male earwigs will use their cerci in competition with other males and in their courtship of females. In the European earwig, Forficula auricularia, the female must choose whether to mate with a courting male. The male courts a female by tapping and stroking a female on the abdomen with his forceps and presenting them to the female. Females nibble the forceps, presumably receiving some chemosensory input to help them decide. Females are not quick to a decision. The average courtship lasts over ten minutes. If the male is accepted, a female will close her forceps and raise her abdomen in a mating position. The acrobatic male must twist his abdomen 180 degrees so that the bottom of his abdomen is facing up to complete the coupling. After all the effort, the earwig couple spend several hours completing the mating.