Anisolabis littorea
This is our first earwig nominee and also the first earwig to be described from New Zealand. Unlike a lot of other earwigs, mata are flightless and live on the beach.
Despite its name, an earwig normally doesn’t crawl into human ears, although they do like to hide in narrow, dark and humid places. This native earwig will happily crawl under seaweed. It is much larger than the introduced European species (Forficula auricularia) and, unlike them, is flightless. Like other earwigs, mata cares for their young during development. It was the first earwig described from New Zealand.
These earwigs are about 35 mm long, with a blackish-brown body and brown-yellow legs. There are two light-brown spots on the head, close to the inner edge of each eye. The abdomen is wider in the middle and generally wider than the head, with pincers characteristic of earwigs at the end.
This species is native to New Zealand, but there are unconfirmed reports of its presence in Australia. Mata are usually found on beaches under stones and driftwood, but may sometimes be found further inland
These insects are carnivores, feeding on millipedes, flies and isopods such as woodlice. Adults are also known to feed on nymphs of their own kind. Larvae go through five instars before becoming adults. At all stages they are active at night and hide from light,usually in damp, sheltered places. The scary-looking pincers at the end of their tail are used in defence and prey capture. They are capable of drawing blood from careless fingers!
Check these links for more info on the Seashore Earwig in NZ
Wikipedia: Information on the Seashore Earwig
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