Bug FAQWestern Earwig
Forficula dentata · Order: Dermaptera · Family: Forficulidae
Also called: European Earwig
The Western Earwig (Forficula dentata) is a cryptic species that is often mistaken for other earwigs.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
It belongs to the Forficula auricularia species complex and looks very similar to F. auricularia and F. mediterranea.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Populations also exist in the Belarusian Central Botanic Gardens, in Newfoundland, and as a single record near Gimmingen, Germany.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
Because it is cryptic, it is frequently misidentified as F. auricularia or F. mediterranea, which have different ranges.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 9 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, Montana, Utah, Hawaii.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: introduced in North America; introduced in Canada; introduced in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
Can I tell this earwig apart from the common European earwig?
It is a cryptic species and looks almost identical to F. auricularia and F. mediterranea, so visual identification is difficult.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Forficulidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forficula_dentata
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.