Pillbugs
Pillbugs
Armadillidium
Also known as: Leg Peggle · Pill Woodlouse · Roly-poly · Lesser Armadillo Pill Woodlice · Euro-mediterranean Pill Woodlice
Animalia
COMMON

Stats

Lifespan
2-3 yrs
Size
Small
Diet
Herbivore
Activity
Nocturnal
Social
Colony
Biome
Temperate forest
Range
Worldwide
Movement
Walking
Breeding
Egg-laying
Defense
Armor
Status
Common

About

The classic roly-poly: a land-living crustacean, not an insect, that curls into a tight armored ball when disturbed. Pillbugs shelter under logs and stones in damp gardens, breathe through gill-like plates that must stay moist, and quietly recycle dead leaves and wood — even reclaiming heavy metals from the soil as they feed.

Life cycle

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

Learn more

Taxonomy

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