European earwigs spend the day time in cool, dark, inaccessible places such as flowers, fruits, and wood crevices. Active primarily at night, they seek out food ranging from plant matter to small insects. Though they are omnivorous ((eat both meat and plants)), they are considered scavengers rather than predators. Often they consume plant matter, though they have also been known to feed on aphids, spiders, insect eggs, and dead plants and insects, among other things. Their favorite plants include the common crucifer Hedge-mustard, the white clover Trifolium repens, and the dahlia Dahlia variabilis. They also like to feed on molasses, as well as on nonvascular plants, lichens and algae. They prefer meat or sugar to natural plant material even though plants are a major natural food source. European earwigs prefer aphids to plant material such as leaves and fruit slices of apple, cherry and pear. Adults eat more insects than do nymphs. European earwigs survive well in cool, moist habitats and have an optimum mean growth temperature of 75°F ((24°C.)) Their daily abundance in a given year has been linked to factors such as temperature, wind velocity and the prevalence of easterly winds. The development of European earwigs also depends on temperature. Thus, the occurrence of European earwigs can be predicted based on weather parameters. Hibernating adults can tolerate cool temperatures, but their survival is reduced in poorly drained soils such as clay. To avoid excessive moisture, they seek the southern side of well drained slopes. Sometimes they also occupy the hollow stems of flowers where the soil is poorly drained. Their eggs are capable of resisting damage from cold and heat.
