Giant Earwig

> Saint Helena Giant Earwig — Labidura herculeana

# Description Largest known earwig (to ~84 mm incl. forceps). Shiny black, robust forceps, short elytra - wikipedia

Status: Extinct (IUCN 2014) Region & Habitat: Saint Helena (South Atlantic); arid volcanic plains with surface stones. Era of loss: Not seen alive since 1967; listed EX in 2014.

# Cinematic beat Night macro under a warm breeze; the earwig lifts a stone, seizes a beetle larva—headlights sweep the plain, stones are hauled away; the foraging path ends in empty ground.

# Habitat & Ecology - Day refuge beneath surface rocks; emerged at night to forage. - Community: native invertebrates on stony plains with sparse shrubs.

# Diet - Scavenger/predator on small invertebrates, carrion.

# Predators - Introduced rodents, mantids, centipedes (notably *Scolopendra morsitans*).

# Behaviour - Nocturnal; shelter fidelity to rock piles (“stone fields”).

# Threats & Drivers - Removal of surface stones for construction; invasive predators; habitat trampling.

# Related - Extinct Insects – Recent Losses

# External - Wikipedia - Wikimedia Commons – museum specimen (Jamestown) - Wikimedia Commons – restoration (CC BY-SA 4.0)

# See - Jamestown Museum specimen - restoration