Bright, Shiny, and New by Chipka
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Description
I didn’t expect to see earwig nymphs, when I lifted a small, ornamental flagstone. I didn’t expect to see much of anything except for dirt, a few fuzzy roots, and other bits of natural flotsam. I saw something: lots and lots of something. I thought they were termites, at first. They weren’t. Being insects, they drew my attention immediately, and being me, I bent as close as I dared to examine them. With some insects, it helps to not get too close: they become frightened and thus, uninteresting. It’s really difficult to enjoy insect company when the said insect is playing dead. And so, with no interest in getting the mysterious pseudo-termites to play dead, I approached them slowly, only to realize that they were brand, new earwigs. Still shiny. Still mostly white. They still had that new bug smell.
There were dozens of them. A female had apparently be busy laying eggs some time in the past. The eggs themselves seemed to have hatched en-masse, and so the underside of a particular ornamental stone was writhing with little earwigs, their ornamental calipers dragging behind them like odd, bifurcated tails. A few of them—their poker-bluff instincts already in place—raised their pincers as if to threaten me. It didn’t work. I took their pictures instead.
I’ve always liked earwigs, almost as much as I like woodlice. There were no woodlice in the vicinity, as the earwig nymphs probably scared them all away. Though largely scavengers, earwigs will exhibit predatory behavior. If it has lots of legs and is small enough to fit in the earwig mouth, its food. At this time of year, the most active woodlice are the little babies—most of whom are small enough to fit in earwig mouths, even infant-earwigs like these little gem-shiny beauties. I watched these little kids for a long time. They did what little insect nymphs do best: scurried around and eventually disappeared under leaf litter and into worm-holes. I nabbed these just as quickly as my camera would allow, and this is the finest outcome of such efforts. I have to admit I’m quite proud of this shot. I’ve rarely seen baby earwigs, and I was surprised at how shiny they are…shininess isn’t just an adult thing, but unlike adults, these little ones aren’t wearing those smart little vests you see earwigs wearing, usually while mercilessly frightening any gardener who just so happens to stumble across them. (You have to get fairly close to see their vests [vestigial wing stumps] and…admittedly…most people aren’t into examining earwig thoraxes. Oh well.) Needless to say, infant earwigs don’t wear vests…their undeveloped, vestigial wing- stumps haven’t grown in yet.
As always, thank you for viewing, reading, and commenting, and hopefully you’ve enjoyed this tiny little dip into Earwig World. Hopefully you’re all having a fantastic week as well.
Comments (18)
durleybeachbum
I got quite unreasonably excited when I opened this pic!! Superb!
Bossie_Boots
Superb capture !!
RodS
New bug smell? I'm not even going to ask! LOL! Really, this is a fascinating capture, Chip. You bring back lots of memories... I used to collect insects when I was a kid. I was always playing with some kind of bug. The kids used to call me "Bugface" when I was in 4th - 5th - 6th grade, don't really remember which... Heh Bugface...... sounds like some kind of tommy-gun toting gangster.... Anyway, this is a great macro of the little critters!
Bothellite
NYMPHS! That got my attention. Seems too early for this discussion but alas, Winter is over!
Orinoor
Ah yes, the horror of earwigs. They aren't so bad really, but whoever gave them their common name is responsible for childhood nightmares. The adults love to hide in my grapes and they are not amenable about removing themselves with a simple shake or wash. I'm glad they have a friend in you.
mgtcs
When I look at insects like that, especially when there are more than a couple of them, I can't help feeling as they were crawling over my skin... Shudders Paradoxically, though, I can appreciate the aesthetics. Nice.
auntietk
I love your enthusiasm about these critters, even though I don't share it. A great capture, and I DO like the shine! :)
whaleman
I'm not sure about that "new bug smell" so perhaps I need to tweek my nostrils, but today I had a very similar experience after picking up a piece of wood that had been half of the roof of one of my bird feeders. I turned it over and found it covered with about 40 small bugs of some description. I gently removed them so I can later repair that roof.
helanker
OH ! The first word coming to my lips was "Termites" (only in Danish) ;-) But you really surprised me by telling it was earwig babies. I have never seen them before and I find them more "sympatic" than their parents and not even so repulsive as I find the adult earwigs. Not that I kill them, when they are in my salad (I help them out of the water and out of my door), but I really dont like them and the story, I have heard about then over my many years, make their marks :-) And then I dont like when they eat my Tagetes. Atleast I think they do or use them for nests or something. Chip, this is a really super shot of them.
GARAGELAND
Its like life, peel back the hard shell and you get surprises. Super shot.
kgb224
Stunning capture my friend.
MrsRatbag
LOL, "new bug smell!" Only you, Chip!
flavia49
outstanding work!
maudawg
...there happens to be only ONE bug, or critter of any kind, that I HATE...and it's EARWIGS...other then that, great shot...
icerian
In your photos also earwigs could be nice! Excellent.
jac204
You always have such a unique take on small critters like these. I'll have to admit the name "earwig" makes me think they should be crawling around in one's ear or something, lol!
CoreyBlack
Perhaps they should get little "training" vests? Got to love that wonderful new bug smell. As always, I love your enthusiasm for these creatures, it's really quite infectious. Wonderful shot!
dashboard_jehovah
LMAO at new bug smell! Been looking for some interesting insects to shoot...still have not found any yet.