Dermaptera

Definition

An order of insects comprising the earwigs, characterized by a pair of forceps-like cerci at the tip of the abdomen, short leathery forewings (tegmina or modified elytra) that cover folded membranous hindwings, and biting mouthparts. Most of the approximately 2,000 species in 12 families are free-living detritivores or omnivores, though some lineages are reduced, wingless ectoparasites of mammals. The order name derives from Greek derma (skin) and pteron (wing), referring to the soft, skin-like hindwings concealed beneath the forewings.

Etymology

From Ancient Greek δέρμα (dérma, 'skin') + πτερόν (pterón, 'wing'), describing the membranous hindwings hidden beneath the hardened forewings.

Example

Forficula auricularia, the common European earwig, is a familiar representative of Dermaptera often found in gardens and decaying wood, where it uses its abdominal pincers defensively and for folding its hindwings after brief, clumsy flight.

Synonyms

• earwigs (common name)

Related Terms

• Cerci
• Elytra
• tegmina
• Neodermaptera
• Archidermaptera
• Forficulidae
• Hemimerina
• Arixenina

Usage Notes

Dermaptera is treated as a plural proper noun in taxonomic usage (the order Dermaptera). The group was historically placed near beetles or termites due to superficial similarities, but modern phylogenomics places them within the polyneopteran assemblage, though their exact relationships remain debated. The pincer-like cerci are sexually dimorphic in many species and function in defense, prey capture, and wing-folding, not in the ear-entering folklore that gives earwigs their common name.