Stats

Lifespan: 2-4 yrs
Size: Tiny
Diet: Herbivore
Activity: Nocturnal
Social: Colony
Biome: Temperate forest
Range: Europe
Movement: Walking
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Armor
Status: Common

About

A terrestrial crustacean armored with seven overlapping plates, found under stones and logs across the world. When threatened it tucks its legs under and rolls into a perfect grey sphere — the trick that earned it the nickname 'roly-poly'.

Life cycle

1.
juvenile
A juvenile crustacean takes adult form after its larval phase, growing in stages between molts.
2.
adult
Fully grown at adult size and full hard shell.

Learn more

View on iNaturalist →

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Isopoda
Family: Armadillidiidae
Genus: Armadillidium
Species: Armadillidium vulgare