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Woodlouse or Rollie Pollie

armadillidium vulgare

Description:

This little guy got my attention while I was taking pictures of a Brahminy Blind Snake (what it is walking on) and I just had to share. The woodlouse is not an insect but a crustacean, that has 14 parts to its body, which gives the woodlouse the flexibility to be able to curl into a ball to protect itself from danger. This means that only the hard outer shell of the woodlouse is exposed.

Habitat:

The woodlouse is found in dark, damp places in forests and jungles throughout the world. The woodlouse feeds on decaying leaf and plant matter on the forest floor, meaning that the woodlouse plays a vital role in the natural carbon dioxide cycle.

Notes:

The female woodlouse lays around 24 eggs which she keeps inside a brood pouch. The woodlouse eggs hatch after an incubation period of just a few days exposing the woodlouse babies. Due to the fact that the baby woodlice take a number of months to fully develop, the mother woodlouse will often stay close to her young until they are adult woodlice.

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RickBohler
Spotted by
RickBohler

Jacksonville, Florida, USA

Spotted on May 4, 2013
Submitted on May 4, 2013

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