Armadillidiidae

"Pillbugs" redirects here. For the band, see The Pillbugs.
Armadillidiidae
Armadillidium vulgare
Armadillidium vulgare in its defensive posture
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Isopoda
Suborder: Oniscidea
Family: Armadillidiidae
Brandt, 1833

Armadillidiidae is a family of woodlice, a terrestrial crustacean group in the order Isopoda. Unlike members of other woodlouse 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. It is this ability which gives woodlice in this family their common names of pill bugs,[1] roly polies , or doodle bugs. [2] The best known species in the family is Armadillidium vulgare, the common pill bug.

Ecology and behaviour

Woodlice in the family Armadillidiidae are able to form their bodies into a ball shape, in a process known as conglobation. This behaviour is shared with pill millipedes (which are often confused with pill bugs[3]), armadillos and cuckoo wasps.[4] It may be triggered by stimuli such as vibrations or pressure, and is a key defence against predation; it may also reduce respiratory water losses.[5]

Relationships with people

Pill-bugs can be considered pests of homes and gardens.[1][6] They are, however, cherished among children, who enjoy keeping them as pets. [7] Keeping a pet pill bug requires a very moist habitat with limited light.[8] They can live for about two to three years.[7]

Owners of pet tarantulas sometimes keep pill bugs as cage cleaners in the same habitat. The pill bugs eat faeces, mold, and leftovers.[8] They are sometimes caught and fed to pets such as lizards, but this is not recommended since those animals might become poisoned.[9]

Classification

The family Armadillidiidae is differentiated from other woodlouse families by the two-segmented nature of the antennal flagellum, by the form of the uropods, and by the ability to roll into a ball, or conglobate.[10]

Within the family Armadillididae, fifteen genera are currently recognised:[11]

  • Alloschizidium
  • Armadillidium
  • Ballodillium
  • Cristarmadillidium
  • Cyphodillidium
  • Echinarmadillidium
  • Eleoniscus
  • Eluma
  • Paraschizidium
  • Paxodillidium
  • Platanosphaera
  • Schizidium
  • Trichodillidium
  • Troglarmadillidium
  • Typhlarmadillidium

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Gordon Gordh & David H. Headrick (2011). "Common pillbug". A Dictionary of Entomology (2nd ed.). CAB International. p. 343. ISBN 9781845935429.
  2. ↑ Kenn Kaufman & Kimberly Kaufman (2012). Kaufman Field Guide to Nature of New England. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 364. ISBN 9780618456970.
  3. ↑ "Pill millipede (Glomeris marginata)". ARKive. Retrieved June 21, 2007.
  4. ↑ Edward M. Barrows (2001). Animal behavior desk reference: a dictionary of animal behavior, ecology, and evolution (2nd ed.). CRC Press. p. 142. ISBN 978-0-8493-2005-7.
  5. ↑ Jacob T. Smigel & Allen G. Gibbs (2008). "Conglobation in the pill bug, Armadillidium vulgare, as a water conservation mechanism" (PDF). Journal of Insect Science 8 (44): 1–9. doi:10.1673/031.008.4401. PMC 3127403. PMID 20233103.
  6. ↑ David V. Alford (2012). "Woodlice". Pests of Ornamental Trees, Shrubs and Flowers (2nd ed.). Manson Publishing. pp. 434–435. ISBN 9781840761627.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Sheryl Smith-Rogers (October 2009). "Wild Thing: Roly-Poly Pillbugs". TPW Magazine. Retrieved July 10, 2010.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 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 978-0-7641-3885-0.
  9. ↑ Eve Adamson (2005). Adopting a Pet For Dummies. For Dummies. p. 325. ISBN 978-0-7645-9879-1.
  10. ↑ P. J. Hayward & John Stanley Ryland (1995). "Crustaceans". Handbook of the marine fauna of north-west Europe. Oxford University Press. pp. 289–461. ISBN 978-0-19-854055-7.
  11. ↑ Marilyn Schotte (2012). M. Schotte, C. B. Boyko, N. L. Bruce, G. C. B. Poore, S. Taiti & G. D. F. Wilson, ed. "Armadillidiidae". World Marine, Freshwater and Terrestrial Isopod Crustaceans database. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved September 26, 2012.

External links