The armoured tank of the garden underworld. An insect with pincers and a bad reputation. Flat, reddish-brown and equipped with a formidable pair of pincers called cerci at the rear of its abdomen, the common earwig looks far more dangerous than it really is. These pincers are used for defence, capturing prey and folding their delicate wings under short wing covers. An insect that looks scary but is not. Despite the old myth that they crawl into human ears, they have no interest in humans whatsoever. They prefer the damp darkness under a flower pot or a rotting log. They are devoted mothers, a rarity in the insect world. A female earwig will lay a clutch of eggs in a burrow and guard them fiercely, cleaning them to prevent fungus and moving them to safer locations if disturbed. She stays with the nymphs after they hatch, protecting them until they are old enough to fend for themselves. This maternal care significantly increases their survival rate in the harsh environment of the soil. Their diet is opportunistic. They will chew holes in soft fruits like peaches and strawberries, and damage delicate seedlings, earning them the ire of gardeners. However, they are also predators, feeding on aphids, mites and other soft-bodied pests. They are a complex mix of friend and foe. The garden is damp. The earwig scuttles under a flower pot, pincers raised, flat and reddish-brown. It does not know it is a devoted mother. It does not know it has a bad reputation. It just wants to eat a slug. The old myth is not true. The earwig does not care about ears. It cares about aphids.