Earwigs can range from light reddish brown to very dark brown or nearly black, depending on the species and stage of development. Some species also have yellow, tan, or reddish markings on their legs, head, or body. The common European earwig, Forficula auricularia, is typically dark reddish brown with a reddish head and lighter yellow-brown legs.
Young earwigs can look quite different from adults. Nymphs are generally paler, with colors ranging from gray and light brown to much lighter shades shortly after molting. So while brown is the color most strongly associated with earwigs, finding a pale or nearly black specimen doesn’t automatically rule one out.
What Color Is the European Earwig?
The European earwig is generally dark reddish brown, with a noticeably reddish head and lighter legs. Its underside can also be paler than the upper surface. This combination is more useful than expecting the entire insect to be one uniform shade of brown.
Lighting can change how that coloration appears. An adult moving across a dark floor at night may look almost black, while the same insect under bright light can reveal much more of its reddish-brown coloring. This is one reason we wouldn’t identify an earwig by shade alone. If you’re unsure what you’ve found, the overall features in what earwigs look like provide a more reliable comparison.
Can Earwigs Be Black?
Some earwigs can be dark enough to appear black, and certain species genuinely range into very dark brown or black coloration. Earwigs as a group can range from light reddish brown to black, so the reddish-brown European earwig shouldn’t be treated as the color standard for every species.
The ringlegged earwig, Euborellia annulipes, is a good example. Adults are dark brown and wingless, with pale legs marked by distinctive dark bands. Those leg markings are where the species gets its common name. A dark specimen with banded legs can therefore look quite different from the European earwig while still clearly belonging to the same insect order.
Some Earwigs Have Stripes and Other Markings
Earwigs aren’t limited to plain shades of brown and black. Some species have yellow, tan, or reddish markings, while others show contrasting bands on their legs or bodies. The striped earwig, Labidura riparia, can vary from pale brown with distinct dark markings to chestnut or reddish brown with darker areas blending into the surrounding color.
These variations are worth remembering if you’re comparing an insect with a photograph of a European earwig. Species differences can be substantial enough that color matching alone sends you in the wrong direction. A better approach is to use color as one clue alongside the characteristic body structure, then compare unusual specimens with bugs that look like earwigs.
What Color Are Baby Earwigs?
Young earwigs are usually lighter than mature adults. European earwig nymphs are gray to light brown, and their coloration becomes more adult-like as they develop through successive molts. Other species can show different immature colors. Some young earwigs have even been described as white to olive-green before taking on darker adult coloration.
This means a pale earwig-shaped insect isn’t necessarily a different pest. Developmental stage can explain much of the difference, particularly when the specimen has the same general anatomy as an adult but is considerably smaller. Our guide to what baby earwigs look like covers those changes through the nymph stages.
Why an Earwig Can Suddenly Look White
An earwig can become unusually pale immediately after molting. Its new outer covering hasn’t yet hardened and developed its normal coloration, so a freshly molted individual may look much lighter than the brown insect you expected to see.
That pale appearance is temporary. As the new exoskeleton hardens, the earwig darkens toward the normal coloration for its species and developmental stage. Finding a very light specimen beside a darker one can therefore reflect different points in the molting process rather than two different kinds of insects.
Can Color Tell You Whether an Earwig Is Male or Female?
Color isn’t a dependable way to distinguish male and female European earwigs. Both sexes share the same general adult coloration, so a darker or redder individual shouldn’t automatically be interpreted as one sex or the other.
The rear forceps provide a much better clue. Adult males generally have more strongly curved pincers, while females have straighter ones. If determining the sex is your goal, our male vs. female earwig comparison is more useful than trying to separate them by color.
Use Earwig Color as a Clue, Not the Identification
Color can narrow things down, but it shouldn’t carry the identification by itself. A reddish-brown insect may fit the European earwig, while a nearly black specimen could fit another species, but thousands of unrelated insects occupy the same broad color range.
What color does particularly well is help you notice differences after the basic identification already makes sense. A reddish head, banded legs, stripes, or unusually pale nymph can point toward a particular species or developmental stage. If the body itself doesn’t resemble an earwig, matching the right shade of brown isn’t enough to make it one.
Other Questions About Earwig Colors
Are there green earwigs?
Green isn’t a typical adult color for the common European earwig. However, immature earwigs of some species can have much lighter coloration, including shades described as olive-green. A greenish specimen should still have the anatomical characteristics expected of an earwig before color is used to support the identification.
Are there red earwigs?
Some earwigs have distinctly reddish coloration, particularly around the head or mixed into an otherwise brown body. The European earwig itself is commonly described as reddish brown rather than bright red.
Why is one earwig lighter than another?
Species, developmental stage, and recent molting can all affect color. Nymphs are generally lighter than adults, while a freshly molted earwig can temporarily become especially pale before its outer covering hardens and darkens.
Do dead earwigs change color?
An insect’s appearance can change after death as the body dries and deteriorates, so the color of an old dead specimen may not perfectly represent how it looked alive. When possible, use several physical characteristics rather than making an identification from the color of a dried specimen alone.
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