Wood Louse Spider Consuming a Earwig
This photo is a "three-fer" because it shows a Wood Louse Spider that captured and is consuming an earwig, with it's own insect prey still held in it's cerci! In addition, the little seen wings of the earwig are partially visible!
While working on an insect project for my great-granddaughter, I discovered that the often maligned Earwig is quite a fascinating insect! They are found everywhere except the Antarctica, hide by day, and feed on decaying matter, plants, and insects. Females guard and clean their eggs and even guard the newly hatched young until their first molt is complete! The forceps or cerci on the end of their abdomens are used to hold prey or for mating. They have hidden "ear-shaped" wings and can fly, as is shown in the video below.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH2qqt-SNy8
It is an "old wives tale" that they will crawl in your ears while you sleep. "In some regions of Japan, earwigs are called "Chinpo-Basami" or "Chinpo-Kiri", which means "penis cutter". Kenta Takada, a Japanese cultural entomologist, has inferred that these names may be derived from the fact that earwigs were seen around old Japanese-style toilets. (Wikipedia)
extension.psu.edu/woodlouse-hunter-spider
www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/animals...
Wood Louse Spider Consuming a Earwig
This photo is a "three-fer" because it shows a Wood Louse Spider that captured and is consuming an earwig, with it's own insect prey still held in it's cerci! In addition, the little seen wings of the earwig are partially visible!
While working on an insect project for my great-granddaughter, I discovered that the often maligned Earwig is quite a fascinating insect! They are found everywhere except the Antarctica, hide by day, and feed on decaying matter, plants, and insects. Females guard and clean their eggs and even guard the newly hatched young until their first molt is complete! The forceps or cerci on the end of their abdomens are used to hold prey or for mating. They have hidden "ear-shaped" wings and can fly, as is shown in the video below.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH2qqt-SNy8
It is an "old wives tale" that they will crawl in your ears while you sleep. "In some regions of Japan, earwigs are called "Chinpo-Basami" or "Chinpo-Kiri", which means "penis cutter". Kenta Takada, a Japanese cultural entomologist, has inferred that these names may be derived from the fact that earwigs were seen around old Japanese-style toilets. (Wikipedia)
extension.psu.edu/woodlouse-hunter-spider
www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/animals...