Notes on the Parasitism and Food Habits of the European Earwig, Forficula auricularia L. (Dermaptera: Forficulidae)

1952 ◽  
Vol 84 (11) ◽  
pp. 343-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. H. McLeod ◽  
D. A. Chant

In 1936, 1937, and 1938 several colonies of Bigonicheta setipennis (Fall.), a dipterous parasite, were liberated in Vancouver, British Columbia, to aid in the control of the European earwig, Forficula auricularia L. During September and October, 1950, an investigation was initiated to determine the abundance and distribution of this parasite and, if possible, to obtain colonies for release in Newfoundland. Approximately 6,000 of B. setipennis were reared from 50,000 trapped earwigs.

1952 ◽  
Vol 84 (6) ◽  
pp. 174-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. A. Chant ◽  
J. H. McLeod

During September, 1950, 23,180 specimens of the European earwig, Forficula auricularia L., were collected in Vancouver, British Columbia, for the purpose of recovering the imported parasite Bigonicheta setipennis (Fall.). Great fluctuations were observed in the number of insects caught from day to day. This paper is an attempt to assess the role of various climatic factors in these fluctuations.


2017 ◽  
Vol 149 (5) ◽  
pp. 600-606 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Claude Tourneur

AbstractThe population structure of the European earwig, Forficula auricularia Linnaeus (Dermaptera: Forficulidae), was investigated in three sites in eastern Canada (Montréal, Québec; Fredericton, New Brunswick; Truro, Nova Scotia), with two goals; describe the seasonal trends of the epigeal phase, and ascertain if the three studied populations belong to sibling species “A”, as opposed to sibling species “B” found in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Insects were collected using wooden grooved traps placed on lawns and tree trunks; traps were checked weekly from the first spring melt of the frost barrier until after autumn first frost (epigeal phase). The epigeal phase was short, about five months. The different instars and adults showed a single peak of abundance. No first instars, few second instars, and mostly fourth instars and adults were collected in the arborescent stratum. The data demonstrated that these three populations have the same epigeal phenology. The interbreeding experiment established that the three studied populations belong to the same sibling species (A) of F. auricularia, and differ from sibling species (B) from Vancouver. I suggest that the climatic conditions in eastern Canada are like those in other world regions where sibling species “A” is present, and that these regions represent the edge of the bioclimatic environment of this species because of its limits on reproduction.


Evolution ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thierry Wirth ◽  
Rene Le Guellec ◽  
Michel Vancassel ◽  
Michel Veuille

1965 ◽  
Vol 97 (10) ◽  
pp. 1075-1076 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ray F. Morris

In a test at St. John's from 20 August to 9 September 1964, grooved-board traps captured more specimens of the Eluropean earwig, Forficula auricularia L., than pitfall traps containing attractants. On 19 August two replicates of one grooved-board and eight Legner traps (Fig. 1) containing bran flakes plus an attractant were set up on a city lot. The Legner traps were set in the soil so that their tops were level with the surface. They were protected from rain by a 12 in. × 12 in. board held in position over the opening by short legs at the four corners. The attractants used were: peanut butter, cod oil, sugar, molasses, honey and macerated earwigs. The traps were attended from 21 August to 9 September and all earwigs removed daily and counted in the laboratory.


2001 ◽  
Vol 133 (5) ◽  
pp. 705-708 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ghislain Berleur ◽  
Jean Gingras ◽  
Jean-Claude Tourneur

In North America, the life cycle of the European earwig (Forficula auricularia L.) can be divided into a nesting phase (hypogean phase) and a free-foraging phase (epigean phase) (Crumb et al. 1941; Behura 1956; Lamb and Wellington 1975). Adults spend the nesting phase in the soil; females burrow into the ground at the onset of the cold weather, lay eggs, and then care for the eggs. Hatching occurs in spring; first- or second-instar nymphs move to the soil surface for the free-foraging period. The earwig, a nocturnal insect, spends the entire daylight period of hiding under trash or in dark crevices. Where two broods occur, females reenter the ground a second time (Lamb and Wellington 1975). Stomach content analyses (Crumb et al. 1941; Sunderland and Vickerman 1980) and food preference tests (McLeod and Chant 1952; Buxton and Madge 1976) revealed that the European earwig is omnivorous. Under laboratory conditions, nymphs fed freshly frozen aphids, Rhopalosiphum padi (L.) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), survive better than those fed green algae or carrots, develop faster, and produce heavier females (Phillips 1981; Carrillo 1985).


2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 134-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew P Hill ◽  
Matthew Binns ◽  
Paul A Umina ◽  
Ary A Hoffmann ◽  
Sarina Macfadyen

2020 ◽  
Vol 113 (5) ◽  
pp. 2335-2342
Author(s):  
Bodil N Cass ◽  
Lindsey M Hack ◽  
Tobias G Mueller ◽  
Darian Buckman ◽  
Elizabeth E Grafton-Cardwell ◽  
...  

Abstract Integrated pest management (IPM) guidelines for horticulture are typically established from years of experimental research and experience for a crop species. Ecoinformatics methods can help to quickly adapt these guidelines following major changes in growing practices. Citrus production in California is facing several major challenges, one of which is a shift away from sweet oranges [Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck Sapindales: Rutaceae] toward mandarins (including mostly cultivars of C. reticulata Blanco and C. clementina hort. ex Tanaka). In the absence of IPM guidelines for mandarins, growers are relying on pest information developed from oranges. We mined a database of management records from commercial growers and consultants to determine densities for four arthropod pests: cottony cushion scale (Icerya purchasi Maskell Hemiptera: Monophlebidae), citricola scale (Coccus pseudomagnoliarum Kuwana Hemiptera: Coccidae), European earwig (Forficula auricularia Linnaeus Dermaptera: Forficulidae), citrus red mite (Panonychus citri McGregor Acari: Tetranychidae), and a natural enemy, predatory mites in the genus Euseius (Congdon Acarina: Phytoseiidae). Densities of cottony cushion scale were approximately 10–40 times higher in the two most commonly grown mandarin species than in sweet oranges, suggesting this pest is reaching outbreak levels more often on mandarins. Densities of the other pests and predatory mites did not differ significantly across citrus species. This is a first step toward establishing IPM guidelines for mandarins for these pests; more research is needed to determine how arthropod densities relate to crop performance in mandarins.


2014 ◽  
Vol 89 (3) ◽  
pp. 267-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Presswell ◽  
S. Evans ◽  
R. Poulin ◽  
F. Jorge

AbstractParasitic nematodes of the family Mermithidae were found to be infecting the introduced European earwig Forficula auricularia (Dermaptera: Forficulidae) in Dunedin, South Island, New Zealand. Adult females were later collected from various garden plants while depositing eggs. These mermithid specimens were identified morphologically as Mermis nigrescens Dujardin, 1842. A genetic distance of 0.7% between these specimens and a M. nigrescens isolate from Canada (18S rRNA gene), suggests that they have diverged genetically, but there are currently no available comparable sequences for the European M. nigrescens. Two additional nuclear fragments were also amplified, the 28S rRNA and the ribosomal DNA first internal transcribed spacer (ITS1), providing a basis for future studies. Bearing in mind the morphological similarity with other reported M. nigrescens and the lack of sequence data from other parts of the world, we retain the name M.nigrescens, and suggest that the species may be found to represent a complex of cryptic species when more worldwide data are available. Herein, we present a brief description of the post-parasitic worms and adult females, along with an inferred phylogeny using 18S rRNA gene sequences.


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