Insects, Original Wild Facts

Wild Fact #198 – Cover Your Ears – Saint Helena Earwig

© ZMUC, Copenhagen

I hope all of you will enjoy today’s Wild Fact because I will probably be getting in trouble from Saint Helena’s Economic Development Department.  I have a hunch that many of you will not want to visit this isolated island in the South Atlantic after you read about today’s animal.  Personally, I want to go and visit even more just to see if I can find one of the amazing Saint Helena Earwigs.  Unfortunately, this particular earwig has been dubbed the “Dodo of Dermaptera” (Dermaptera is just the classification that earwigs fall into).   They get this title since this particular species is endemic to such a small area and could very well already be extinct.  I sure hope they are not extinct because these insects seem pretty cool.

Now I know some of you get squeamish around earwigs (I am looking your way, Mom) but I bet our little earwigs in North America don’t seem too bad compared to the Saint Helena Earwig.  Why?  Because these particular earwigs have been known to grow as large as 83 mm (3.3″) long and is known as the largest earwig on the planet.  Could you just imagine a 3″ earwig crawling around your hair while you nap?

As I mentioned, this giant Earwig could very well be extinct as a result of habitat loss.  They were last spotted in 1967 and after several unsuccessful expeditions, the results are not looking good for this cool insect.  The Saint Helena Earwig was first discovered in 1798 but was pretty much forgotten about in the Science world until 1962.  That seems like an awfully long time to forget about a giant earwig.  If I lived there I would be constantly thinking about them.  It is also funny (or sad) that they were rediscovered only 5 years before they potentially went extinct.  Maybe they were better off being forgotten.

Saint Helena Earwig Fast Fact – This particular earwig likes (I am using present tense since I am trying to be positive about their potential existence) to burrow deep beneath the ground and only come out at night after it rains.   Perhaps the island is still loaded with these earwigs but nobody likes going out at night after it rains?  So what do you think?  Is it possible that these cute earwigs are still alive?

 

3 Comments

  1. Wow, your hunch was right I don’t think I will ever go there. Do earwigs actually crawl around in peoples ears?

    1. But if they are extinct, you shouldn’t have to worry. Although, maybe there are some other very large bugs on the island that haven’t been discovered yet.

      I wouldn’t worry about Earwigs crawling around in your ears. This is just a myth that was created at some point in time. I recommend reading the other Earwig post on Wild Facts to find out some more interesting things about them. They really are fascinating.

  2. We’d like everyone to come and visit us on St Helena – we have lots of interesting insects and plants that are unique to the Island! We don’t know if the Giant Earwig is extinct or not…and people are still looking to find one. There is still habitat where the Earwig could be, so it is quite likely they are around; it’s just no one has spotted one. We thought our endemic Ebony plant was extinct for 30 years, and one was then rediscovered (from which many have since been grown), so it is quite possible for the earwigs to be around. Why not come and visit and see for yourself!
    Mike
    St Helena Tourism

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