Creepy crawlies.

Alexander and I, we never travel alone. There are always some other living creatures traveling with us. First, we weren’t aware of them but now it is very clear. Eddie is our travel buddy, and I must speak about Eddie in the plural. Eddies.

Who are Eddies, you may wonder? Well, Eddies are earwigs. And we call them Eddies because it is a nice alliteration with Earwig. Eddy the Earwig. It sounds so much nicer, it sounds almost like someone you know.  And since we are traveling companions, it is the right thing to give them a proper name.

1,5 centimeter long, 8 legs, sleek dark brown body with a pincer on the tail. Which can be turned up scorpion-like to look more menacing when feeling threatened. And pinch you when you’re not careful. 

Eddies crawl in everything, the folds of the tent, on the tent sheet, underneath the self-inflatable matrasses… Everywhere, where it is dark, slightly moist, and rather warmish.

Would they, when I’m asleep, actually crawl into my ear? You know, being an earwig? An ear meets all criteria an earwig likes….So,….will they?

On the other hand, I’ve never woken up with an earwig dangling out of my ear, so it can’t be true, right? And I’m not saying this to convince myself that earwigs don’t crawl into ears!

Anyway, the thing I can’t prevent is Eddies crawling between my gear. They just do. But look at it from the bright side, when the earwigs creep between our stuff, we must be helping them in its dispersion around Scotland. The population of earwigs must be flourishing after traveling for 19 years all along the coastline. Numbers must be up and the earwig population genetically strong with all those earwigs we take along from island to island. But you never hear or read about this genetic triumph, we never get the credits for all the hard work and effort we unknowingly put into this dispersion thing. 

No scientific article in Nature, no Gordon Buchanan making a film about this phenomenon. I think this really massive movement of gene pools must deserve a PhD recherche at least!!! But no, no interest what so ever from the scientific community. Perhaps they are not aware of this happening….. Hmm, didn’t think of that. 

Johoe, Scientific community of genetics!!! Along the coastline of Scotland is some interesting dispersion going on of earwigs!!!

I think they know now.

Charlotte Gannet.