Editing Earwig (section)

==Life cycle and reproduction==
[[File:Earwig life cycle upwards.svg|thumb|right|100px|The life cycle and development of a male earwig from egg to each [[instar]]]]
Earwigs are [[hemimetabolous]], meaning they undergo incomplete metamorphosis, developing through a series of four to six [[molt]]s. The developmental stages between molts are called [[instar]]s. Earwigs live for about a year from hatching. They start mating in the autumn, and can be found together in the autumn and winter. The male and female will live in a chamber in debris, crevices, or soil {{convert|2.5|cm|in|0}} deep.<ref name="International Wildlife"/>{{Rp|739}} After mating, the sperm may remain in the female for months before the eggs are fertilized. From midwinter to early spring, the male will leave, or be driven out by the female. Afterward the female will begin to lay 20 to 80 pearly white [[Egg (biology)|eggs]] in two days. Some earwigs, those parasitic in the suborders [[Arixeniina]] and [[Hemimerina]], are [[viviparous]] (give birth to live young); they would be fed by a sort of [[placenta]].<ref name="International Wildlife"/>{{Rp|739–740}}<ref name="gullan"/> When first laid, the eggs are white or cream-colored and oval-shaped, but right before hatching they become kidney-shaped and brown.<ref name="Ohio">{{cite web|url=http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2068.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20080822133948/http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2068.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 August 2008|title=Earwigs, HYG-2068-94|work=Ohio State University|access-date=20 July 2009 }}</ref> Each egg is approximately {{Convert|1|mm|in|frac=32|abbr=on}} tall and {{Convert|0.8|mm|in|frac=64|abbr=on}} wide.<ref name="NC-IPM"/>

Earwigs are among the few non-social insect species that show maternal care. The mother pays close attention to the needs of her eggs, such as warmth and protection.<ref name="International Wildlife"/>{{Rp|739–740}}<ref name="gullan"/> She faithfully defends the eggs from predators, not leaving them even to eat unless the clutch goes bad.<ref name="International Wildlife"/>{{Rp|740}} She also continuously cleans the eggs to protect them from [[fungi]]. Studies have found that the urge to clean the eggs persists for only a few days after they are removed, and does not return even if the eggs are replaced; however, when the eggs were continuously replaced after hatching, the mother continued to clean the new eggs for up to three months.<ref name="International Wildlife"/>{{Rp|740}}

Studies have also shown that the mother does not immediately recognize her own eggs. After laying them, she gathers them together, and studies have found mothers to pick up small egg-shaped wax balls or stones by accident. Eventually, the impostor eggs were rejected for not having the proper scent.<ref name="International Wildlife"/>{{Rp|740}}

<gallery class="center" widths="180px" heights="180px">
File:Nesting Earwig Chester UK 1.jpg|Female earwig in her nest, with eggs
File:Nesting Earwig Chester UK 2.jpg|Female earwig in her nest with newly hatched young
</gallery>

The eggs hatch in about seven days. The mother may assist the nymphs in hatching. When the nymphs hatch, they eat the egg casing and continue to live with the mother. The nymphs look similar to their parents, only smaller, and will nest under their mother and she will continue to protect them until their second molt. The nymphs feed on food [[trophallaxis|regurgitated]] by the mother,<ref>{{cite journal|title=Maternal Food Regurgitation to Nymphs in Earwigs (Forficula auricularia)|author1=Staerkle M|author2=M Koelliker|doi=10.1111/j.1439-0310.2008.01526.x|journal=Ethology|volume=114|year=2008|pages=844–850|url=http://evolution.unibas.ch/koelliker/pdf/Staerkle_Ethology2008.pdf|issue=9|bibcode=2008Ethol.114..844S |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707004342/http://evolution.unibas.ch/koelliker/pdf/Staerkle_Ethology2008.pdf|archive-date=7 July 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref> and on their own molts. If the mother dies before the nymphs are ready to leave, the nymphs [[Matriphagy|may eat]] her.<ref name="International Wildlife"/>{{Rp|740}}<ref>{{cite journal| title=Matriphagy in the hump earwig, Anechura harmandi (Dermaptera: Forficulidae), increases the survival rates of the offspring|author1=Suzuki, S. |author2=Kitamura M. |author3=Matsubayashi, K. |journal= Journal of Ethology| year=2005| volume =23| issue=2| pages=211–213| doi=10.1007/s10164-005-0145-7|s2cid=26557397 }}</ref>

After five to six [[instars]], the nymphs will molt into adults. The male's forceps will become curved, while the females' forceps remain straight. They will also develop their natural color, which can be anything from a light brown (as in the [[tawny earwig]]) to a dark black (as in the [[ringlegged earwig]]). In species of winged earwigs, the wings will start to develop at this time. The forewings of an earwig are sclerotized to serve as protection for the membranous hindwings.