Fauna / Dermaptera

Classification classique
Règne Animalia
Embranchement Arthropoda
Sous-embr. Hexapoda
Classe Insecta
Sous-classe Pterygota
Infra-classe Neoptera

Spanish:
Se llama en castellano tijeretas a los miembros del orden dermápteros (latín Dermaptera). Son insectos de cuerpo alargado, algo aplanado, de tamaño mediano a pequeño, de color pardo o rojizo, y con 2 cercos posteriores en forma de tenaza. Normalmente viven bajo piedras o entre la corteza de los árboles.
Son insectos frecuentes, de los que existen unas 1800 especies, la mayoría tropicales, aunque también los hay en regiones templadas. Las alas anteriores (en caso de existir) funcionan como élitros o más bien elitroides, y recubren las posteriores que son semicirculares y membranosas; comparten este rasgo anatómico con los escarabajos de la familia estafílinidos. Los cercos posteriores están fuertemente curvados en los machos, que los usan durante la cópula. Sirven además para las operaciones de desplegar y recoger las alas. Son hemimetábolos, y tienen de 4 a 6 instares. En cuanto a la alimentación, la mayoría son omnívoras o saprófagas. Los omnívoros son nocturnos, y usan los cercos en la depredación. Poseen también glándulas repugnatorias defensivas.
Una parte de los miembros del grupo son vivíparos, habiendo desarrollado en la evolución estrcuturas placentarias para la nutrición de los embriones.

English:
Earwig is the common name given to the insect order Dermaptera characterized by membranous wings folded underneath short leathery forewings (hence the literal name of the order - "skin wings"). The abdomen extends well beyond the wings, and frequently, though not always, ends in a pair of forceps-like cerci. With about 1,800 recorded species in 10 families, the order is relatively small among Insecta. Earwigs are, however, quite common globally.
Most earwigs are elongate, flattened, and are dark brown. Lengths are mostly in the 10-14 mm range, with the St. Helena earwig reaching 80 mm. Cerci range from nonexistent to long arcs up to one-third as long as the rest of the body. As in other orthopteroid insects, mouthparts are adapted for chewing. When earwigs have wings (are not agnathous), the hindwings are folded in a complex fashion, so that they fit under the forewings. Earwigs rarely fly.
The abdomen of the earwig is flexible and muscular. It is capable of maneuvering as well as opening and closing of the forceps. The forceps are used for a variety of purposes. In some species, the forceps have also been observed in use for holding prey, and in copulation. The forceps tend to be more curved in males than in females.
Most earwigs found in Europe and North America are Forficula auricularia, the European earwig, which is distributed throughout the cooler parts of the northern hemisphere. They feed on other insects, plants, ripe fruit, and garbage. Plants they feed on typically include clover, dahlias, zinnias, butterfly bush, hollyhock, lettuce, strawberry, sunflowers, celery, peaches, plums, potatoes, roses, seedling beans and beets, and tender grass shoots and roots; they have also been known to eat corn silk, damaging the corn. Typically they are a nuisance because of their diet, but normally do not present serious hazards to crops. Some tropical species are brightly colored. Occasionally earwigs are confused with cockroaches because of the points on the end, the long antennae. Earwigs are most active at night and can be seen patrolling household walls and ceilings. Interaction with earwigs at this time results in a defensive free fall to the ground below, and the subsequent scramble to a nearby cleft or crevice.
Earwigs are also drawn to damp conditions. During the summer they can be found around sinks and in bathrooms. Earwigs tend to gather in shady cracks or openings or anywhere they can remain concealed in daylight hours. Picnic tables, compost and waste bins, patios, lawn furniture, window frames or anything with minute spaces can potentially harbour these unwanted residents. Upon gaining entry to the basement and living areas of the home, earwigs can easily find cover in undisturbed magazine and newspaper piles, furniture/wickerwork, base boards, carpeted stairways, pet food dishes, and even inside DVD cases. Earwigs are inclined to take risks and are exploratory creatures but are overly unaware of the consequences and will often find themselves trapped in poison baited cups or buckets of soapy water.

French:
Les dermaptères sont un ordre d'insectes qui comprend notamment les forficules ou perce-oreilles. On connaît environs 1 300 espèces à travers le monde, dont un peu plus d'une trentaine en Europe.
Ce sont des insectes allongés munis de pince abdominales (les forceps). Les mâles possédent des pinces plus courbes que les femelles. C'est un moyen de reconnaître les deux sexes.
Les forficules sont parmi les rares insectes dont la mère porte attention à sa progéniture. Elle ne se contente pas seulement de pondre les oeufs pour les abandonner ensuite, mais elle reste à proximité de ceux-ci jusqu'à leur éclosion.
Les dermaptères (de derma : peau et ptera : aile) ont des ailes très fines ressemblant aux lambeaux d'épiderme qui pèlent après un coup de soleil. celles-ci sont repliées de façon très complexe sous de minuscules élytres.