Brown earwig (Labidura truncate) 2016

Summary

This drawing depicts a brown earwig carefully guarding her eggs and babies. As depicted in the illustration, female earwigs lay their white, oval eggs in a nest burrow in the ground. The female earwig defends her eggs and cares for the nymphs once they’ve hatched. Earwigs use the pair of pincers on the back of their bodies to groom themselves, defend their territory, and attack and carry their prey. The illustration was drawn by Kate Cranney for the City of Melbourne's publication 'The Little Things that Run the City'. The book explores the diversity of insects we have within our city’s boundaries and examines what we can do to help them survive and thrive.