PEST NAME : COMMON EARWIG (Forficula auricularia L)

SIZE, SHAPE AND COLOUR : 12 to 20mm. Light to dark brown. Short leathery wing covers, pronounced pincers, flattened elongated shape.

BIOLOGY :  30 eggs laid in soil.  Female tends eggs.  4 to 6 nymphal stages to adult.

PREFERRED FOODS :  Carnivore eating mainly small insects, dead animal and plant material.

HABITAT : Primarily outdoors in horticulture, usually indoors as a  casual  intruder, likes cracks and crevices  especially around doorframes and at skirting level.