St. Helena Earwig (largest species)

I am so genuinely upset, I just realised that the largest species of earwig, the Saint Helena earwig has gone extinct. It was first recorded in 1796 by Danish scientist Jonah Christian Fabricius, and was last recorded 1967. Its body length would range from 36 to 54 millimetres, which is insane when you compare it to the average length of 13-14mm length. The earwig would live in deep burrows, emerging during the night to feed on rotting vegetation. The species was mostly observed near rocky areas.

Despite searches for the species in 1988, 1993, 2003, and 2005, there have been no recordings of the earwig. The IUCN has declared the earwig extinct. "the habitat... has been degraded as far as this species is concerned... by the removal of nearly all surface stones, under which specimens were then found, for construction purposes."

The species went extinct because of construction. The largest species of earwig went extinct because of construction. Since the St. Helena Airport has been built (many conservationists were upset with the construction as the area had great biodiversity.) it's almost definite that the species is extinct, and it's unlikely that we will see it again.