Armadillidium vulgare

Armadillidium vulgare
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Crustacea
Class:	Malacostraca
Order:	Isopoda
Suborder:	Oniscidea
Family:	Armadillidiidae
Genus:	Armadillidium
Species:	A. vulgare
Binomial name
Armadillidium vulgare Latreille, 1804 [1]
Synonyms [2]
Armadillidium affine Armadillidium armeniense Armadillidium brevicaudatum Armadillidium commutatum Armadillidium decipiens Armadillidium marmoreum Armadillidium nitidulum Armadillidium oliveti Armadillidium pilulare Armadillidium schellenbergi Armadillidium sorattinum Armadillidium subdentatum Armadillidium triviale Armadillidium variegatum Armadillo ater Armadillo convexus Armadillo marmoreus Armadillo pilularis Armadillo pustulatus Armadillo trivialis Armadillo variegatus Armadillo vulgaris

Armadillidium vulgare, the (common) pill-bug or (common) pill woodlouse, is a widespread European species of woodlouse. It is the most extensively investigated terrestrial isopod species.^[2]

Description

Armadillidium vulgare may reach a length of 18 millimetres (0.71 in), and is capable of rolling into a ball when disturbed; this ability, along with its general appearance, gives it the name pill-bug and also creates the potential for confusion with pill millipedes such as Glomeris marginata.^[3] It can be distinguished from Armadillidium nasatum and Armadillidium depressum, the only other British species in the genus, by the gap that A. nasatum and A. depressum leave when rolling into a ball; A. vulgare does not leave such a gap.^[4]

Armadillidium vulgare beginning to unroll from its defensive posture

Ecology

A. vulgare is able to withstand drier conditions than many other woodlouse species, and is restricted to calcareous soils or coastal areas.^[3] It feeds chiefly on decaying plant matter, but also grazes lichens and algae from tree bark and walls.^[5]

It is able to regulate its temperature through its behaviour, preferring bright sunshine when temperatures are low, but remaining in shadow when temperatures are high; temperatures below −2 °C (28 °F) or above 36 °C (97 °F) are lethal to it.^[6] A. vulgare is less susceptible to cold during the night, and may enter a state of dormancy during the winter in order to survive temperatures which would otherwise be lethal.^[6]

Distribution

The native distribution of A. vulgare ranges across Europe, especially in the Mediterranean region .^[2] In the United Kingdom, A. vulgare is very common in southern and eastern England, but is more confined to coastal areas in the north.^[7] Similarly, in Ireland, A. vulgare is common in the south and east, but rarer in the north and west.^[8]

A. vulgare has been introduced to many locations in North America, where it may reach population densities of up to 10,000 individuals per square metre.^[9] It is now one of the most abundant invertebrate species in California coastal grassland habitats.^[10] It has also been introduced, to a lesser extent, to sites across the world.^[2]

Relationships with people

Because of their unusual yet non-threatening appearance, some Armadillidium vulgare are kept as pets in areas throughout the U.S., typically among children. Among adults, they are often seen as unwanted (but essentially harmless) home pests.^[11] Keeping a pet pill bug requires a very moist habitat with limited light and lots of decaying plant matter.^[12] They can often live up to three years.^[11]

See also

• List of woodlice of the British Isles

References

External identifiers for Armadillidium vulgare
EOL	1021952
ITIS	93250
NCBI	13347
Also found in: Wikispecies

1. ^ "Armadillidium vulgare". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=93250. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d} Helmut Schmalfuss (2003). "World catalog of terrestrial isopods (Isopoda: Oniscidea) — revised and updated version". Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde, Serie A 654: 341 pp. http://www.oniscidea-catalog.naturkundemuseum-bw.de/Cat_terr_isop.pdf. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Pill woodlouse (Armadillidium vulgare)". ARKive.org. http://www.arkive.org/pill-woodlouse/armadillidium-vulgare/info.html. Retrieved February 13, 2009. 
4. ^ "Woodlouse Wizard: an identification key". Natural History Museum. http://www.nhm.ac.uk/woodlice/key.html. Retrieved November 7, 2010. 
5. ^ "Common pill woodlouse — Armadillidium vulgare". Natural England. http://www.plantpress.com/wildlife/o109-commonpillwoodlouse.php. Retrieved February 13, 2009. 
6. ^ ^{a b} Roberto Refinetti (1984). "Behavioral temperature regulation in the pill bug, Armadillidium vulgare (Isopoda)". Crustaceana 47 (1): 29–43. doi:10.1163/156854084X00298. http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/brill/cr/1984/00000047/00000001/art00003. 
7. ^ "Armadillidium vulgare". Natural History Museum. http://www.nhm.ac.uk/woodlice/results/old/armadillidium_vulgare.html. Retrieved November 7, 2010. 
8. ^ "Grid map of records on the Gateway for Common Pill Woodlouse (Armadillidium vulgare)". NBN Gateway. http://data.nbn.org.uk/gridMap/gridMap.jsp?allDs=1&srchSpKey=NBNSYS0000008572. Retrieved February 13, 2009. 
9. ^ Jan Frouza, Richard Lobinske, Jirí Kalcík & Arshad Ali (2008). "Effects of the exotic crustacean, Armadillidium vulgare (Isopoda), and other macrofauna on organic matter dynamics in soil microcosms in a hardwood forest in central Florida". Florida Entomologist 91 (2): 328–331. doi:10.1653/0015-4040(2008)91[328:EOTECA]2.0.CO;2. http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1653/0015-4040(2008)91%5B328:EOTECA%5D2.0.CO%3B2. 
10. ^ Oscar H. Paris (1963). "The ecology of Armadillidium vulgare (Isopoda: Oniscoidea) in California grassland: food, enemies, and weather". Ecological Monographs (Ecological Society of America) 33 (1): 1–22. doi:10.2307/1948475. JSTOR 1948475. 
11. ^ ^{a b} Smith-Rogers, Sheryl (October 2009). "Wild Thing: Roly-Poly Pillbugs". TPW Magazine. http://www.tpwmagazine.com/archive/2009/oct/scout3/. Retrieved July 10, 2010. 
12. ^ Stanley A. Schultz & Marguerite J. Schultz (2009). The Tarantula Keeper's Guide: Comprehensive Information on Care, Housing, and Feeding. Barron's Educational Series. pp. 181–183. ISBN 9780764138850.