Earwig . The name itself comes from an old folk’s tale that suggests these bugs would crawl into the ears of people and lay eggs inside the brain. The name “earwig” has a long and extremely non-scientific history. These days, they are not likely to pose such a threat and are mostly contained in backyards. There are nearly 2,000 different species of earwig that are found throughout the American, Australian and Eurasian continents.. The European Earwig was decimating the states' crop and fruit tree harvest and measures were taken to eradicate them from the area. ... Scientific Name: Forficula auricularia. Other Name(s): Earwig The Ring-legged Earwig is a commonly seen insect throughout North America and it gets its creepy name from the false idea that these insects actually crawl into your ear and bite you inside the ear canal. This however is a fictional tale that does not hold any scientific fact. The earwig is a small sized insect that is found in a variety of habitats around the world.