Woodlouse

One woodlouse, many woodlice.

• Woodlice are a crustacean and have a long outer skeleton body and fourteen limbs that are jointed.
• There are at least 3000 species of woodlice and some, Armadillidium, can roll into a spherical shape as a defence, though most woodlice can not do this.
• Woodlice have many other names, including: armadillo bug, boat-builder, carpenter, cafner, cheeselog, cheesy bug, doodlebug, pill bug, potato bug, roly-poly, sow bug, roll up bug, chuggypig, chucky pig, slater, gramersow, butcher boy, butchy boy and wood bug.  Some of these common names are specific to certain species of woodlice.
• The fertilised eggs of a female woodlouse are kept in a brood pouch on the underside of its body.
• Woodlice need lots of moisture to live, though most woodlouse don’t live in water.

• Woodlice breath through ‘lungs’ in their hind legs.
• Woodlice are nocturnal and live in dark, damp areas.
• Woodlice are great for compost and the garden as they feed mainly on rotted vegetation and in so doing, recycle nutrients and aerate the soil, though they can be a threat to new grown plants.
• Woodlice may enter homes in search for moisture, although are considered a minor pest as they do no damage to wood.
• Woodlice moult, and unlike most arthropods, shed their ‘shell’ (exoskeleton) in two halves over a couple of days.

Bibliography:
Woodlouse 15 December 2012, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodlouse>