Summary
Those scary-looking pincers on an earwig aren't for you. Deep Look reveals how earwigs use their curved rear pincers to catch prey, fold their wings, defend themselves, and even care for their eggs.
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All ages
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Talk about it
An earwig's pincers are a multi-tool: they grab food, help pack away wings, fend off rivals, and tend eggs. The same structure serves many needs.
- List two jobs an earwig's pincers do.
- Why is it useful to have one tool that does many things?
- How do the pincers help the earwig survive and raise young?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: pincers, structure, defense, multi-use.
Try it: Name a tool you own that does more than one job. Write how an earwig's pincers are like that.