6 replies to this topic

[KitsAntVa]

Is this like a king and queen earwig can she lay eggs?

[ANTdrew]

Males have straight pincers, and females have curved pincers.

[Devi]

Males have straight pincers, and females have curved pincers.

I found 5 queen earwigs thinking they were normal last week.  smh

[KitsAntVa]

well me to basically i just fed it to my colony

[ponerinecat]

Ouch... "king and queen earwig". First off, earwigs are not eusocial. They do not have a caste system and all individuals should be equally able to reproduce. Second, hymenopterans are the only eusocial insects that can found with a single previously mated female. So in any other eusocial animal you'd need a pair or more. And third, to answer your question, she is a female European earwig (Forficula auricularia) and can lay eggs if you introduce her to a male in the right season. They can actually be raised in a test tube but I'd advise you touch up on earwigs before you try to observe a female raise her eggs.

[Kaelwizard]

Thank you ponerinecat. I was going to say that these do not have “kings” or “queens.”

[ponerinecat]

Males have straight pincers, and females have curved pincers.

Pincer shape is actually very variable among European earwigs, I've seen straight cerci on females and curves cerci on males. It's more reliable to look at cerci length and whether or not there's any barbs. Males have larger, spikier cerci.