Anatomy

For this project I have been asked to create a fall figure self portrait with a difference. The difference being that I’m going to draw myself spliced with an animal that I have chosen at random.

The animal I picked at random was a Forficula Auricularia (an earwig basically).

Here is some information and images I have collected from the internet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forficula_auricularia

Forficula Auricularia, the Common earwig or European earwig, is an omnivorous insect in the family Forficulidae. The European earwig is a common household pest in North America. Though they frighten many, they are harmless but tend to take up habitation within the home. The name "earwig" comes from the rumor that these insects crawl into human ears and enter the brain, but this is false. However, there have been cases of earwigs wandering into ears by mistake. Instead, F. Auricularia is a species that nurses their young and has survived in a variety of environments.

I know useing Wikipedia is probably frowned upon but I just thought this information could be useful. I like the fact that the creature is harmless despite its scary appearance.

http://bugguide.net/node/view/23281

 The female lays a clutch of eggs, which she tends and grooms in order to keep it clean and safe.

The immature earwigs are basically like miniature, undeveloped versions of the parents, with wings developing gradually on the outside of the body with each molt, the number of segments in the antennae also increasing with each molt, and the forceps developing from thin rods into the characteristic shapes of the adults. The female continues to look after them after hatching (at least in the early stages).

This information interests me because I like the idea of this horrific looking bug being a caring/attentive mother (for a little while anyway). This reminds me of the Queen Alien in James Cameron’s Aliens (1986).

Images for reference