Subject: Garage key-pad-loving bug. Help!
Location: Nebraska
August 20, 2015 8:11 pm
To whom it may concern,
This kind of bug has been very attracted to (and is somehow crawling into) our garage keypad box. Whenever I open it and see one (or two or three) I knock them off but more come back! What kind of bug is this? It freaks me out to open my own garage, so I would greatly appreciate the help!
Signature: Thank you!

Earwig

This is an Earwig and though they can be an annoyance, they are basically benign.  Earwigs often seek small enclosures within which to congregate.

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Subject: Long earwig-like thing
Location: Somerset, UK
July 30, 2015 12:44 am
Hello! I was wondering if you could help, no one here seems to know and I can’t find this insect in any ‘common British insects’ books.
I’m in England, I was just about to finish the last gulp of my tea when I saw this thing in the bottom of my mug. It was quite a shock, not least because of its size – it was about 1.5 inches long! The closest thing I can find that it looks like is an earwig, with those big pincers on the back but way bigger and with a much more extended abdomen. Sorry the pictures aren’t great.
Do you know what it is?
Signature: Emma

What’s In the Tea Cup???

Dear Emma,
We empathize with your experience, but we still find it terribly amusing.  The reason this looks like an Earwig is because it is an Earwig.  The beadlike antennae and forceps are plainly evident when zooming in for a close-up.

Earwig

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Subject: a bug I caught 🙂
Location: India,Nagaland
May 19, 2015 12:23 am
While I was curious to know the name of the bug .
Signature: Benjamin achumi

Earwig

Dear Benjamin,
This really is a primitive looking Earwig in the order Dermaptera.  We suspect he is a male because of the well developed forceps.  Your individual is quite distinctive and we had hoped to be able to provide a genus and species, but alas, we have not been able to locate any matching individuals online.  Perhaps one of our readers will have better luck.

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Subject: Earwig Species
Location: Florida
May 16, 2015 6:57 am
I found this bug at work inside our office the other day. I immediately recognized it as an earwig but it definitively wasn’t a typical one you see everywhere. It was a lot larger and it had very distinct coloring. I tried to identify it online but the closest image I got was tawny earwig but I was still not 100% positive on that identification. Hopefully you will have a better idea of what this exactly is. I live in Florida but we do get a lot of packaging from China so it’s good to keep that in mind as well (previous employees got a scorpion with one of the shipments). Hopefully this will be enough information to ID the species. Thank you.
Signature: Ivana

Shore Earwig

Dear Ivana,
We believe we have matched your image to an image of a male Shore Earwig, Labidura riparia, that is posted to BugGuide.  According to BugGuide, it is:  “Cosmopolitan; introduced in NA, occurs across the southern states” and the habitat is:  “Coastal/riparian (along margins of various water bodies).”  Finally BugGuide notes that the Shore Earwig:  “Preys on various invertebrates, but may occasionally switch to plant material.”

Thank you for the quick responce. That is definitively a match. Very cool species!

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Subject: Found a few in and around my house
Location: Austin, TX
January 22, 2015 8:05 pm
Wondering what this bug might be.
Signature: CJD

Ring Legged Earwig

Dear CJD,
We believe your Earwig is a Ring Legged Earwig, Euborellia annulipes, based on images posted to BugGuide where it states:  “A voracious predator, it also eats all kinds of plant material, though it rarely bothers with live plants.”  Earwigs do not pose a danger to you or your home.

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Subject: Eastern Province Saudi Arabia Bug
Location: Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia
November 16, 2014 10:49 pm
Hello, we’d be grateful to know what this is. It was seen last Tuesday, 11th November on a tennis court built on reclaimed land sticking out into the Arabian Gulf at Al Khobar. It was about 2 inches long. It was near where small children play so an idea as to whether it is venomous or not would be helpful. The immediate concern was that it was a scorpion but it has no claws and apparently a double stinger apparatus.
Signature: Catharine

Earwig

Dear Catharine,
This is an Earwig in the order Dermaptera and Earwigs are frequently called Pincher Bugs because of the cerci at the tip of the abdomen that resemble forceps.  Your individual is in a threat position, but as Earwigs do not have venom and are not considered dangerous, the threat position is more of a bluff.

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