Earwig - Quiz
Earwig
  • 1. What is the typical size range for most earwigs?
A) 1–3 inches
B) 7–50 millimetres (1⁄4–2 inches)
C) 10–100 millimetres
D) 5–30 centimeters
  • 2. Which species is the largest extant earwig?
A) European common earwig
B) Australian giant earwig (Titanolabis colossea)
C) Saint Helena earwig (Labidura herculeana)
D) American burrowing earwig
  • 3. What is the maximum recorded length of the possibly extinct Saint Helena earwig?
A) 100 mm
B) 60 mm
C) 78 mm (3+1⁄16 inches)
D) 50 mm (2 inches)
  • 4. What are the forceps-like pincers on an earwig's abdomen called?
A) Cerci
B) Tegmina
C) Ovipositors
D) Antennae
  • 5. What is the primary use of the pincers in earwigs?
A) For mating rituals
B) For sensing vibrations
C) For digging burrows
D) To capture prey, defend themselves and fold their wings under the short tegmina.
  • 6. How do the antennae of earwigs appear?
A) Feathered and multi-segmented.
B) Spike-like with over 20 segments.
C) Clubbed with fewer than 5 segments.
D) Thread-like with at least 10 segments.
  • 7. Which families of earwigs have males with paired penises?
A) Only Karschiellidae and Pygidicranidae
B) All earwig families
C) Karschiellidae, Pygidicranidae, Diplatyidae, Apachyidae, Anisolabisidae, and Labiduridae.
D) None of the above
  • 8. In which family are both penises symmetrical in males?
A) Pygidicranidae and Diplatyidae.
B) Karschiellidae
C) Labiduridae
D) Apachyidae
  • 9. What is the role of forewings in earwigs?
A) To cover the hindwings like the elytra of a beetle.
B) For swimming
C) For sensing light
D) For flying long distances
  • 10. Which suborders of earwigs are wingless and blind?
A) Pygidicranidae
B) Dermaptera
C) Neodermaptera
D) Arixeniina and Hemimerina.
  • 11. What is unique about the wings of earwigs?
A) Their venation and pattern of folding that requires the use of the cerci.
B) They can regenerate if damaged
C) They are brightly colored
D) They have scales like butterflies
  • 12. What is a typical feature of the earwig's neuroendocrine system?
A) It lacks any ganglia
B) It has only one large central ganglion
C) It is similar to that of mammals
D) It consists of a brain, subesophageal ganglion, three thoracic ganglia, and six abdominal ganglia.
  • 13. What do earwigs lack in their digestive system?
A) An esophagus
B) A hindgut
C) A midgut
D) Gastric caecae.
  • 14. Where is the gonopore located in female earwigs?
A) On the thorax
B) At the front of the abdomen
C) Behind the seventh abdominal segment.
D) Near the antennae
  • 15. What type of ovaries do earwigs have?
A) No ovaries
B) Diploid
C) Polytrophic, with nurse cells and oocytes alternating along the length of the ovariole.
D) Monotrophic
  • 16. Which continents do not have earwigs?
A) North America.
B) Australia.
C) Antarctica.
D) Africa.
  • 17. How many molts do earwigs undergo before becoming adults?
A) Seven molts.
B) No molts, they hatch as adults.
C) Three molts.
D) Five molts.
  • 18. When did the suborder Neodermaptera first appear?
A) In the Triassic period.
B) In the Jurassic period.
C) During the Cretaceous period.
D) In the Paleozoic era.
  • 19. Which major grouping does Dermaptera belong to?
A) Coleoptera.
B) Orthoptera.
C) Polyneoptera.
D) Hemiptera.
  • 20. What is the origin of the scientific name 'Dermaptera'?
A) Greek, meaning 'skin wings'.
B) German, meaning 'pincer creatures'.
C) Latin, meaning 'winged insects'.
D) French, meaning 'ear bugs'.
  • 21. Where was the common earwig introduced in North America?
A) Introduced from Australia.
B) Native to North America.
C) From Europe in 1907.
D) Brought over by early settlers from Asia.
  • 22. How many species of earwigs are found in North America?
A) About 25 species.
B) Exactly 50 species.
C) Over 100 species.
D) Less than 10 species.
  • 23. How many earwig species occur in Europe, including Great Britain?
A) 25 species.
B) 45 species.
C) 60 species.
D) 100 species.
  • 24. Which family of earwigs is found in North America and includes the genus Forficula?
A) Spongiphoridae.
B) Forficulidae.
C) Anisolabididae.
D) Labiduridae.
  • 25. What is the scientific order name for earwigs derived from?
A) 'Pincer insects'.
B) 'Nocturnal flyers'.
C) 'Skin wings'.
D) 'Ear bugs'.
  • 26. What type of metamorphosis do earwigs undergo?
A) No metamorphosis
B) Incomplete metamorphosis
C) Hypermetamorphosis
D) Complete metamorphosis
  • 27. Where do earwigs create their chamber for reproduction?
A) Underwater
B) On tree leaves
C) In open fields
D) Debris, crevices, or soil
  • 28. What is the shape of earwig eggs when they are first laid?
A) Square
B) Triangular
C) Oval-shaped
D) Round
  • 29. What type of insect species show maternal care similar to earwigs?
A) Communal
B) Social
C) Non-social
D) Solitary
  • 30. Do earwig mothers immediately recognize their own eggs?
A) No
B) Only after hatching
C) Yes
D) After the first molt
  • 31. What is the typical behavior pattern of most earwigs?
A) Crepuscular
B) Diurnal
C) Cavernicolous
D) Nocturnal
  • 32. Which species of earwig is known to squirt a foul-smelling liquid?
A) Forficula auricularia
B) Doru taeniatum
C) Labidura riparia
D) Anisolabis maritima
  • 33. What maneuver does Doru taeniatum use to aim its defensive discharge?
A) Revolving the abdomen
B) Jumping
C) Spinning in circles
D) Flicking its tail
  • 34. What type of habitat is associated with cavernicolous earwigs?
A) Grasslands
B) Deserts
C) Caves
D) Forests
  • 35. What unusual behavior can earwigs exhibit under exceptional circumstances?
A) Migrating long distances
B) Building nests
C) Hibernating
D) Forming swarms
  • 36. Where did a significant swarm of earwigs occur in August 1755?
A) In the Amazon rainforest
B) On the island of Hawaii
C) Near Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK
D) In the Sahara Desert
  • 37. Which of these animals is known to prey upon earwigs?
A) Fish
B) Dogs
C) Birds
D) Cats
  • 38. What type of larvae are endoparasites that primarily target earwigs?
A) Grasshopper larvae
B) Tachinid flies
C) Maggots
D) Flea larvae
  • 39. Which species of tachinid fly has been used as a biological control for earwigs for almost a century?
A) Mermis nigrescens
B) Triarthria setipennis
C) Ocytata pallipes
D) Vespula maculifrons
  • 40. Which type of wasp preys upon earwigs when they are abundant?
A) European hornet
B) Cicada killer
C) Paper wasp
D) Yellow jacket (Vespula maculifrons)
  • 41. What type of worm occasionally parasitizes earwigs?
A) Hookworm
B) Roundworm (Mermis nigrescens)
C) Tapeworm
D) Fluke
  • 42. How many species of parasitic fungus have been found on earwigs?
A) 26
B) 100
C) 10
D) 50
  • 43. Which type of mite is observed on common earwigs and feeds on their cadavers?
A) Scarlet acarine mites
B) Dust mites
C) Histiostoma polypori
D) Tyroglyphoid mites
  • 44. What is the extinct suborder of early earwigs called?
A) Neodermaptera
B) Hemimeridae
C) Archidermaptera
D) Arixeniidae
  • 45. What is a unique feature of earwigs not found in other insects?
A) Compound eyes
B) Pincers
C) Antennal heart
D) Wings
  • 46. How many segments do the tarsi of adults from the earliest earwig fossils have?
A) Four-segmented
B) Three-segmented
C) Five-segmented
D) Six-segmented
  • 47. Which order is considered a possible close relative of Dermaptera according to a 2012 study?
A) Plecoptera
B) Dictyoptera
C) Blattodea
D) Notoptera
  • 48. Which living order is found to be the closest relative of earwigs in a 2018 phylogenetic analysis?
A) Notoptera
B) Embioptera
C) Phasmatodea
D) Zoraptera
  • 49. What type of organ is the antennal heart in earwigs?
A) Reproductive
B) Respiratory
C) Digestive
D) Circulatory
  • 50. Which order do earwigs belong to?
A) Coleoptera
B) Dermaptera
C) Hemiptera
D) Orthoptera
  • 51. What type of mouthparts do earwigs have?
A) Piercing-sucking-type
B) Chewing-type
C) Biting-type
D) Siphoning-type
  • 52. Are ocelli present in earwigs?
A) Absent
B) Present
C) Partially present
D) Variable presence
  • 53. Which suborder includes the majority of earwig species?
A) Arixeniina
B) Hemimerina
C) Neodermaptera
D) Forficulina
  • 54. What type of species were the first epizoic earwigs?
A) Native to European forests
B) Discovered on a Malaysian hairless bulldog bat
C) Living in South American jungles
D) Found in African deserts
  • 55. Which taxonomist described the first epizoic earwig species?
A) Carolus Linnaeus
B) Karl Jordan
C) Alfred Russel Wallace
D) Charles Darwin
  • 56. What type of parasites are Hemimeridae?
A) Oviparous ectoparasites
B) Free-living and non-parasitic
C) Viviparous ectoparasites
D) Endoparasites with segmented cerci
  • 57. How many families are included in the Dermaptera order, including extinct ones?
A) 10
B) 5
C) 20
D) 15
  • 58. What kind of damage do earwigs cause to plants?
A) Circular holes in leaves
B) Stem girdling
C) Root rot
D) Cup-shaped bite marks
  • 59. In James Joyce's novel Finnegans Wake, what do the initials 'HCE' primarily stand for?
A) Harold Chester Evans
B) Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker
C) Hugh Calvin Edwards
D) Henry Charles Ewing
  • 60. Which short story by Oscar Cook involves the use of an earwig as a murder instrument?
A) "Boomerang"
B) "Switch On The Light"
C) "A Century Of Creepy Stories"
D) "The Caterpillar"
  • 61. Which TV series adapted Oscar Cook's story 'Boomeranger'?
A) The Twilight Zone
B) Alfred Hitchcock Presents
C) Night Gallery
D) Tales from the Crypt
  • 62. What is the alternative name for earwigs in some parts of rural England?
A) "Fighting-antenna"
B) "Combat-bug"
C) "Battle-twig"
D) "War-worm"
  • 63. In which poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson is the term 'battle-twig' mentioned?
A) The Spinster's Sweet-Arts
B) In Memoriam A.H.H.
C) The Lady of Shalott
D) Ulysses
  • 64. Who is the Japanese cultural entomologist that inferred the meaning of earwig names in Japan?
A) Hiroshi Nakamura
B) Yasuo Tanaka
C) Takashi Sato
D) Kenta Takada
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