Sunday, 20 March 2011

Macro Monday: Woodlice

Woodlice, aka "armadillo bug", "carpenter" (Newfoundland), "cheeselog" (Reading, Berkshire), "cheesy bug" (North-West Kent), "doodlebug" (also used for the larva of an antlion), "pill bug" (usually applied only to the genus Armadillidium), "potato bug", "roly-poly", "sow bug", "roll up bug", "chuggypig" or "chucky pig", "slater","gramersow" (Cornwall), "butcher boy" or "butchy boy" (Australia), and "wood bug" (British Columbia, Canada). Thank you, Wikipedia!

Cheeselog - really!?!

No idea how it managed to get all of those names, but I discovered 50 million of them in my compost heap this morning, so I thought I would take some photos. I believe my woodlice are European woodlice (Oniscus asellus). Thanks to Dave Ingram for the ID help.





Help! I have fallen and I can't get up!


I think from now on I am going only going to take photos of things that can't move......I am guessing that it is a hell of a lot less frustrating.

Trying to Escape!
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15 comments:

  1. Teresa20 March 2011 at 19:13

    Ick! They're amazing great photos, but ick. I'm sure it would be less frustrating if they weren't crawling all over, but isn't that why the belong in the class of living things known as creepie crawlies?

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  2. Bom20 March 2011 at 21:00

    Is it dead then? Great set of captures. Lice is generically known as "kuto" here in the Philippines. I'm not sure if there is a specific name for woodlice though.

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  3. Jay at The Depp Effect21 March 2011 at 03:01

    Ooooooh, woodlice!! I love those things .. for some reason! I suppose as a child I was fascinated by the 'armour', the many legs, and the way some of them roll up. Also the variety in colour and shape.

    Excellent photos, DBM! Love them!

    The Norfolk side of my family calls them 'sows'. :D

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  4. McGillicutty21 March 2011 at 04:42

    eeewww for some reason I can't stand these things... I think I had an infestation of them in one of the houses I lived in in my early 20's or something??? can't quite remember.. have blocked it from my memory.
    I'm going to have to take another shower now!!

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  5. Jan n Jer21 March 2011 at 05:43

    Very intertesting...nice to know the technial name....I always called them rolly pollys. Great shots!

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  6. Anonymous21 March 2011 at 07:11

    Fascinating...in a creepy, shivery sort of way! :-) Great captures!

    Lisa

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  7. Tammie Lee21 March 2011 at 11:24

    it is always so interesting to see bugs up close.

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  8. Baino21 March 2011 at 13:02

    Ugh. . as long as they stay in the garden!

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  9. Cortes21 March 2011 at 13:05

    As long as they stay in the wood pile I am happy.

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  10. Don't Bug Me!21 March 2011 at 15:55

    Teresa: OK, so not so pretty, but I am sure they are doing wonders in my compost heap.

    Bom: Definitely not dead - even after a stint the fridge the little guy waqs very active!

    Jay: Why sosw? Enquiring minds need to know.

    McGillicutty: They really aren't that bad, are they?

    Jan n Jer: Rolly pollys - at least I can understand that name!

    Lisahudson: Thank you!

    Tammie: Indeed, you even get to see the rather poorly developed eyes. I guess you don't use them much, living in a compost heap.

    Baino: At east they won't kill you horribly, like most of your wildlife!

    Cortes: I have a load in my kitchen right now......they are coming to work with me tomorrow.

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  11. Dimple22 March 2011 at 12:10

    I have called them pill bugs and sow bugs. They do seem to have a fondness for rotting wood....
    Great shots, it's hard to capture a moving target any time, but especially in macro!

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  12. Susannah Anderson23 March 2011 at 11:35

    Non-stop runners, these are. Good shots!

    (No cute faces, though.)

    I read somewhere about giving bugs wine to slow them down. An old, old trick. Maybe it will work on sowbugs. It doesn't on carpet beetles; I tried it.

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  13. Don't Bug Me!23 March 2011 at 12:16

    Dimple: It was very frustrating!

    Weeta: No, not so cute, but then nor is your spider! I shall have to try the wine thing - if nothing else, it is an excuse to open a bottle of wine!

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  14. Mike B.23 March 2011 at 20:22

    If it is a pill bug, is it a crustacean? I was surprised to learn that pill bugs aren't, well, bugs!

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  15. Don't Bug Me!23 March 2011 at 21:05

    Mike: Yes, it is indeed a crustacean - too many legs to be an insect! So no, not a bug, but then neither are most insects.....

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