Earwig water dish

[Edan bandoot]

Anyone know if earwigs will drown themselves if offered a water dish, the species I keep lives around water if that's any help.

I suspect they are Anisolabis maritima, I've kept one in the past and I want to try breeding them come summer.

 

[Matts inverts]

I would use a shallow one if using one. Not judging but why are you keeping earwigs as pets? They become a serious pest where I live.

 

[Edan bandoot]

I would use a shallow one if using one. Not judging but why are you keeping earwigs as pets? They become a serious pest where I live.

Have you kept earwigs before?

 

[Matts inverts]

No but the earwigs walk into water and drown when I water plants outside. I personally don’t see the purpose of keeping them

 

[Edan bandoot]

No but the earwigs walk into water and drown when I water plants outside. I personally don’t see the purpose of keeping them

These are maritime earwigs, they would dessicate in a dry house.

Please don't interact if you've never kept them.

 

[Matts inverts]

Sorry, thought you meant a different type. Where did you get them? I was looking online but can’t find care information. Did you collect yourself or did you buy from a seller. If you did buy, just ask the seller

 

[Edan bandoot]

Sorry, thought you meant a different type. Where did you get them? I was looking online but can’t find care information. Did you collect yourself or did you buy from a seller. If you did buy, just ask the seller

I'm not looking for care information...
I stated that I've kept them before.

This thread is literally only for the question of whether they would drown themselves or not. You clearly don't know left from right about earwigs mate.

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

I don't know anything about keeping earwigs so I'm useless but I just wanted to say that I'd never heard of this species, and my goodness they're pretty! So thanks for asking so I could enter the earwig rabbit hole, and I hope you get the answer you're looking for!

 

[Edan bandoot]

I don't know anything about keeping earwigs so I'm useless but I just wanted to say that I'd never heard of this species, and my goodness they're pretty! So thanks for asking so I could enter the earwig rabbit hole, and I hope you get the answer you're looking for!

Their wonderful, their endemic to nearly the entire world and almost completely carnivorous, they even guard their eggs for a while!

 

[Ajohnson5263]

Sorry if I'm late to the thread. I've kept numerous Maritime earwigs for an animal behavior project. Very interesting critters! Because mine was for research, they had a very bare bone setup. The moist paper towel in a 16oz deli cup with a few small holes for ventilation. I fed them dry cat food (which they seemed to enjoy) but they may also take pre-killed insects or live amphipods. For a more visually appealing setup, you can get a larger container with moist sand and driftwood for them to hide under (maybe a mangrove tree too). They are territorial, so try to make sure they all have their own hide. Smaller earwigs cohabit better than adults. I never gave them any water dishes (although a shallow dish filled with gravel may work). As long as the substrate is moist, they should be fine. Remember that saltwater dehydrates, do these guys are fairly resistant to desiccation because of this.

 

[Edan bandoot]

Sorry if I'm late to the thread. I've kept numerous Maritime earwigs for an animal behavior project. Very interesting critters! Because mine was for research, they had a very bare bone setup. The moist paper towel in a 16oz deli cup with a few small holes for ventilation. I fed them dry cat food (which they seemed to enjoy) but they may also take pre-killed insects or live amphipods. For a more visually appealing setup, you can get a larger container with moist sand and driftwood for them to hide under (maybe a mangrove tree too). They are territorial, so try to make sure they all have their own hide. Smaller earwigs cohabit better than adults. I never gave them any water dishes (although a shallow dish filled with gravel may work). As long as the substrate is moist, they should be fine. Remember that saltwater dehydrates, do these guys are fairly resistant to desiccation because of this.

I didn't know they would eat cat food, when I kept mine I only fed her live stuff, good to know!

Thanks for sharing your experience with keeping them without the dish successfully, it puts my mind at ease to know Im not doing this horribly wrong.

When I kept mine I had her in a moist sand and beach rock mix and she made her little burrow.

Seeing as you kept them for a research project, would you know how breeding works with them, I've been wondering if their eggs would need a cold diapause to hatch or not.

 

[The Snark]

I've been wondering if their eggs would need a cold diapause to hatch or not.

Now you got me curious. Their natural habitat is in a temperature mediated zone. Very intricate environmental balances at work or I'm missing something?

 

[Ajohnson5263]

I didn't know they would eat cat food, when I kept mine I only fed her live stuff, good to know!

Thanks for sharing your experience with keeping them without the dish successfully, it puts my mind at ease to know Im not doing this horribly wrong.

When I kept mine I had her in a moist sand and beach rock mix and she made her little burrow.

Seeing as you kept them for a research project, would you know how breeding works with them, I've been wondering if their eggs would need a cold diapause to hatch or not.

I did a fair amount of research and honestly, I couldn't tell you. still, a lot to be discovered about these insects, although they are probably the most well-studied earwig due to their unique sparing methods. Eggs are laid in the spring (at least, in temperate climates) but they might need seasonal cues to trigger development or breeding.

 

[schmiggle]

Now you got me curious. Their natural habitat is in a temperature mediated zone. Very intricate environmental balances at work or I'm missing something?

Eh, quite the opposite really--tidal areas are generally considered to experience massive and unpredictable temperature swings and high levels of radiation. Most things that live there are pretty tough.

@Edan bandoot wouldn't these guys get most of their water from food? They don't go in the ocean, and it's too salty to drink from anyway. Haven't kept them, though, so obviously take the suggestion with as much salt as you like.

I did a fair amount of research and honestly, I couldn't tell you. still, a lot to be discovered about these insects, although they are probably the most well-studied earwig due to their unique sparing methods. Eggs are laid in the spring (at least, in temperate climates) but they might need seasonal cues to trigger development or breeding.

Maybe day length too? Both could be worth trying for breeding. If they're like plants, even a short (half hour) dark period at the right time could make a big difference.

 

[Edan bandoot]

Eh, quite the opposite really--tidal areas are generally considered to experience massive and unpredictable temperature swings and high levels of radiation. Most things that live there are pretty tough.

@Edan bandoot wouldn't these guys get most of their water from food? They don't go in the ocean, and it's too salty to drink from anyway. Haven't kept them, though, so obviously take the suggestion with as much salt as you like.

Maybe day length too? Both could be worth trying for breeding. If they're like plants, even a short (half hour) dark period at the right time could make a big difference.

Mine come from a freshwater environment so they're fine to drink where I live, I'm not sure how much they drink or what they get their water from. I just know that they can dessicate if kept completely dry, I had an irl friend of mine experience this.

I'm completely clueless on the breeding myself, just looking for someone who knows definitively lol. Im asking about cold diapause because I live in canada, where -40 is a regular temperature during the winter and I'm pretty sure these are an annual species.

Edit: the above paragraph is relevant due to them being locality collected, edited for clarity

 

[Edan bandoot]

Here's a cool study I found about cohabitating them

Big wigs and small wigs: Time, sex, size and shelter affect cohabitation in the maritime earwig (Anisolabis maritima) - PubMed

Animal aggregations can occur for a variety of abiotic factors, such as resource limitation, or biotic factors, including group foraging and protection from predators. In our study, we examined whether time, sex, body size or shelter availability affected aggregation behavior of the maritime...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[The Snark]

Eh, quite the opposite really--tidal areas are generally considered to experience massive and unpredictable temperature swings and high levels of radiation. Most things that live there are pretty tough.

Okay, I'm confused. The intertidal zone has drastic variations but AMSL air temperatures are mediated by the temperature of the water mass in close proximity which usually varies only a few degrees on a seasonal basis. In turn the air temperature mediates the immediate environment. I need to check back with Telonicher marine lab on this. I refer you to the fog belt conducive to the health and growth of Sequoia Sempervirens.

 

[Edan bandoot]

Okay, I'm confused. The intertidal zone has drastic variations but AMSL air temperatures are mediated by the temperature of the water mass in close proximity which usually varies only a few degrees on a seasonal basis. In turn the air temperature mediates the environment. I need to check back with Telonicher marine lab on this.

I find my maritime earwigs around inland lakes, they are tolerant of a lot more temperatures then you may think. Incredibly hardy animals who fill their niche insanely well.

 

[The Snark]

I find my maritime earwigs around inland lakes, they are tolerant of a lot more temperatures then you may think. Incredibly hardy animals who fill their niche insanely well.

Yup yup yup yup. I lived on the north coast of Calif. for a few years. Earwigs placed at the top of nuisance pests in veggie gardens, easily outclassing snails and slugs. Guy I know has made a tidy profit making 'earwig hotels'. Little slabs of wood with a gap between. Place them all over the garden in the evening then come morning drop them in a bucket of water to drown the 100,000,000,000,003 earwigs. Wash, rinse, repeat.

 

[schmiggle]

Okay, I'm confused. The intertidal zone has drastic variations but AMSL air temperatures are mediated by the temperature of the water mass in close proximity which usually varies only a few degrees on a seasonal basis. In turn the air temperature mediates the immediate environment. I need to check back with Telonicher marine lab on this. I refer you to the fog belt conducive to the health and growth of Sequoia Sempervirens.

Oh I see what you're saying. I figured these guys would sort of follow the tide in and out a bit, and also that when you're not more than a foot or two from the water the mediating effect is swamped by other factors.

Mine come from a freshwater environment so they're fine to drink where I live, I'm not sure how much they drink or what they get their water from. I just know that they can dessicate if kept completely dry, I had an irl friend of mine experience this.

How can they be freshwater if they're maritime, huh? They really need to get it together

Neat though, sounds barely habitable by humans