Armadillidium is a genus of the small terrestrial crustacean known as the woodlouse. Armadillidium are also commonly known as pill woodlice, leg pebbles, pill bugs, roly-poly, or potato bugs, and are often confused with pill millipedes such as Glomeris marginata. They are characterised by their ability to roll into a ball ("volvation") when disturbed.
Armadillidiidae is a family of woodlice, a terrestrial crustacean group in the order Isopoda. Unlike members of some other woodlice families, members of this family can roll into a ball, an ability they share with the outwardly similar but unrelated pill millipedes and other animals. This ability gives woodlice in this family their common names of pill bugs or roly polies. Other common names include slaters,potato bugs, butchy boys and doodle bugs. Most species are native to the Mediterranean Basin, while a few species have wider European distributions. The best-known species, Armadillidium vulgare, was introduced to New England in the early 19th century and has become widespread throughout North America.
Armadillidium vulgare, the common pill-bug, potato bug, common pill woodlouse, roly-poly, slater, doodle bug, or carpenter, is a widespread European species of woodlouse. It is the most extensively investigated terrestrial isopod species. It is native to Mediterranean Europe but has accompanied humans throughout their travels and now are found, naturalized in almost all suitable ecosystems.
Porcellio scaber, is a species of woodlouse native to Europe but with a cosmopolitan distribution. They are often found in large numbers in most regions, with many species preying on them.
A woodlouse is any crustacean belonging to the suborder Oniscidea within the order Isopoda. They get their name from often being found in old wood, and from louse, a parasitic insect, although woodlice are neither parasitic nor insects.
Trichoniscus pusillus, sometimes called the common pygmy woodlouse, is one of the five most common species of woodlice in the British Isles. It is acknowledged to be the most abundant terrestrial isopod in Britain. It is found commonly across Europe north of the Alps, and has been introduced to Madeira, the Azores and North America.
Ligidium hypnorum is a species of woodlouse found across Europe and western Asia. It is a fast-moving, active species whichthat rarely grows longer than 9 mm (0.35 in). It is dark and shiny, and is similar in appearance to the common species Philoscia muscorum, and also the rarer Oritoniscus flavus. In Great Britain, it was first discovered at Copthorne Common, Surrey, in 1873, and most later records are also from South East England. It is considered a good indicator species for ancient woodland.
Hemilepistus reaumuri is a species of woodlouse that lives in and around the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East, "the driest habitat conquered by any species of crustacean". It reaches a length of 22 mm (0.87 in) and a width of up to 12 mm (0.47 in), and has seven pairs of legs which hold its body unusually high off the ground. The species was described in the Description de l'Égypte after the French Campaign in Egypt and Syria of 1798–1801, but was first formally named by Henri Milne-Edwards in 1840 as Porcellio reaumuri. It reached its current scientific name in 1930 after the former subgenus Hemilepistus was raised to the rank of genus.
Platyarthrus hoffmannseggii is a species of woodlouse which is closely associated with ants' nests, particularly those of Lasius flavus, Lasius niger and species of Myrmica, where it feeds on ant droppings or mildew. It is white, 4 millimetres (0.16 in) long, and has a distinctive oval shape and short antennae. Its distribution appears to follow those of the ants with which it lives, and the British Isles are the north-westerly limit of its range. Elsewhere, P. hoffmannseggii extends south to the Mediterranean Sea. It is found outside Europe in North Africa and Turkey, and has been introduced to Australia and North America.
Porcellio spinicornis is a species of woodlouse in the family Porcellionidae. This species is widespread in Europe, and has also been introduced to North America. It has wide spiny frontal lateral lobes.
Porcellio siculoccidentalis is a species of woodlouse in the genus Porcellio, which is endemic to western Sicily.
Armadillidium klugii is a lesser-known, rare Balkan, Dalmatia-based species of woodlouse, most distinguished by its colouration which resembles the red markings of the Mediterranean black widow Latrodectus tredecimguttatus. This is probably a kind of mimicry, to ward off predators that mistake the harmless animal for a venomous spider.
Armadillidium depressum, the southern pill woodlouse is a large, relatively common British species of woodlouse characterized by its "splayed" appearance.
Armadillidium nasatum, the nosy pill woodlouse, is a large, Western European-based species of woodlouse that has been introduced to North America, along with Armadillidium vulgare also found in other parts of Europe.
Helleria brevicornis, the sole species of the monotypic genus Helleria, is a terrestrial woodlouse endemic to the islands and coastal regions of the northern Tyrrhenian sea. H. brevicornis is of interest due to its endemism, unique ecology and basal position in the suborder Oniscidea.
Invertebrate iridescent virus 31 (IIV-31), also known informally as isopod iridovirus, is a species of invertebrate iridescent virus in the genus Iridovirus. Oniscidea serve as hosts. Infection is associated with decreased responsiveness in the host, increased mortality, and most strikingly, the emergence of an iridescent blue or bluish-purple colour due to the reflection of light off a paracrystalline arrangement of virions within the tissues.
Porcellio hoffmannseggii, commonly called the titan isopod, is a species of woodlouse of the genus Porcellio described in 1833. This very large species is native to the southern Iberian Peninsula, Morocco and the Balearic Islands.
Porcellio scaber lusitanus is a subspecies of Porcellio scaber endemic to Spain and Portugal. Described in 1907 as Porcellio lusitanus the species was later lowered to a subspecies level despite being referred to as a form. It is highly likely that Porcellio scaber lusitanus are normal P. scaber with Allometric Growth.
Armadillidium maculatum, also known as the zebra isopod or zebra pillbug is an Armadillidium species of woodlouse, named for its black and white patterns. It is native to southern France.
