a woodlouse ( plural woodlice ) is a terrestrial isopod crustacean with a rigid , segmented , long exoskeleton and fourteen jointed limbs .

woodlice mostly feed on dead plant material , and they are usually active at night .

woodlice form the suborder oniscidea within the order isopoda , with over 5,000 known species .

woodlice in the genus armadillidium and in the family armadillidae can roll up into an almost perfect sphere as a defensive mechanism , hence some of the common names such as pill bug or roly-poly .

most woodlice , however , can not do this .

woodlouse

and the area which the woodlouse inhabits . the woodlouse is found in nearly every
porcellio scaber ( otherwise known as the common rough woodlouse or simply rough woodlouse ) , is a species of european woodlouse .
this is the british english definition of woodlouse . view american english definition of woodlouse .
the common woodlouse is the most widespread species of woodlouse in the british isles , both geographically and ecologically .
the female woodlouse lays around 24 eggs which she keeps inside a brood pouch . the woodlouse eggs hatch after an
the ' reading woodlouse watch 1987 ' - s . p . hopkin download paper
the woodlouse is found in dark , damp places in forests and jungles throughout the world . the woodlouse feeds on decaying leaf and plant matter on the forest floor , meaning that the woodlouse plays a vital role in the natural carbon dioxide cycle .
, it is one of the
big five
species of woodlouse . it has also colonised
common woodlouse : the origin of the common woodlouse and a description are a part of the information found on this link to the slater museum of natural history / university of puget sound website .
while their closest modern descendant is the horseshoe crab , they bear close resemblance to the modern woodlouse .
also include common pill woodlouse , roly poly , and german ' kugelassel ' . the genus was once
the species are noted for resemblance to the common woodlouse or pill bug , to which they are related .
to anyone with the intelligence of a woodlouse it is obvious that they have had more than ample warning .
oniscus asellus , the common woodlouse , is one of the largest and most common species of woodlouse in the british isles and western and northern europe , growing to lengths of 16 mm and widths of 6 mm .
the first 3 - 5 are dug by a single woodlouse , which then stops to guard the new burrow .
bibble - bug , chooky , chuggy pig , roly - poly . . . the many names of the woodlouse
of just a few days exposing the woodlouse babies . due to the fact that the baby woodlice take a number of months to fully develop , the mother woodlouse will often stay close to her young until they are adult woodlice .
pub . med . verified bites by the woodlouse spider , dysdera crocata . vetter , rs , isbister , gk .
but a crustacean , that has 14 parts to its body , which gives the woodlouse the flexibility to be able to curl into a ball to protect itself from danger . this means that only the hard outer shell of the woodlouse is exposed .
source / reference article learn how you can use or cite the woodlouse article in your website content , school work and other projects .
isopods live in the sea , in fresh water , or on land and include familiar animals such as the sea slater and woodlouse .
a female woodlouse will keep fertilised eggs in a marsupium on the underside of her body until they hatch into small , white offspring .
embed this arkive thumbnail link (
portlet
) by copying and pasting the code below . < a href =
urltoken
title =
arkive video - common woodlouse - overview
> < img src =
urltoken
alt =
arkive video - common woodlouse - overview
title =
arkive video - common woodlouse - overview
border =
0
/ > < / a >
a single woodlouse , ( pea bugs and roly - polies are commonly used names due to the woodlouse’s ability to roll itself into a ball when in danger ) may not bother you too much , however , an infestation of woodlice ( the plural for woodlouse ) is usually a sign that your home has sufficient damp and decaying wood for them to thrive , meaning its time to call pest control professionals immediately .
if a foraging woodlouse can not find the burrow entrance on its return , it employs a complex and efficient strategy to find it again .
these woodlice are three of the five species most commonly found in gardens - together with the other two species , they are known as the ‘famous five’ . the remaining two in this club are common pigmy woodlouse , trichoniscus pusillus , and the common shiny woodlouse , oniscus asellus .
the common woodlouse is one of the largest native woodlice in britain , at up to 16 mm ( 0 . 63 in ) long .
a more obvious animal connection is the armadillo , reflected in the latin name of the pill woodlouse , armadillidium . both creatures have a protective , ridged body , and the woodlouse in some ways resembles a miniature armadillo – which gets its name from the spanish armado , ‘armed one’ .
natureplus : wildlife garden blog : bibble - bug , chooky , chuggy pig , roly - poly . . . the many names of the woodlouse
embed this arkive thumbnail link (
portlet
) by copying and pasting the code below . < a href =
urltoken
title =
arkive species - pill woodlouse ( armadillidium vulgare )
> < img src =
urltoken
alt =
arkive species - pill woodlouse ( armadillidium vulgare )
title =
arkive species - pill woodlouse ( armadillidium vulgare )
border =
0
/ > < / a >
embed this arkive thumbnail link (
portlet
) by copying and pasting the code below . < a href =
urltoken
title =
arkive species - common woodlouse ( oniscus asellus )
> < img src =
urltoken
alt =
arkive species - common woodlouse ( oniscus asellus )
title =
arkive species - common woodlouse ( oniscus asellus )
border =
0
/ > < / a >
, some are even bigger . the woodlouse has an average lifespan of around 2 years but some are known to get up to 4 years old .
a is another relative of the woodlouse , it lives in the splash zone on rocky shores and can grow surprisingly large , about 2 . 5 cm .
one of the most recent additions to the pantheon of woodlouse nomenclature is roly - poly bug which , as with its older cousin lockchest , relates to the pill woodlouse’s ability to roll into a ball . still a colloquial term and chiefly used in north america , roly - poly bug can also be applied to similar invertebrates .
pillbugs belong to the woodlouse family . they are one of the few sub - species which has the ability to roll into a ball when threatened . this defensive stance is a means of protection . because of this characteristic , pillbugs belong to the armadillidiidae genus ; which is a family of woodlouse which share this specific ability .
, known as woodlouse hunters , which feed exclusively on them ) , small mammals ( such as shrews ) , birds , centipedes , harvestmen , and ground beetles .
- vetter , r . & isbister , g . 2006 . verified bites by the woodlouse spider , dysdera crocata . toxicon 47 ( 2006 ) 826 - 829 .
their morphology resembles that of their terrestrial cousin , the woodlouse : their bodies are dorso - ventrally compressed , protected by a rigid , calcareous exoskeleton composed of overlapping segments .
he found a moth that lived on feathers , a beetle , a woodlouse that lived on dung , and numerous spiders that he thought lived on scavengers of the waterfowl .
the general body form of the different genuses explains some of their behaviour – there are six types : runner , clinger , roller , creeper , spiny form and non - conformist , of which the first four only are found in britain . when you pick up a woodlouse , you may recognise it by its body form - for example , if disturbed , the common pill woodlouse , armadillidium vulgare , will roll into a ball . conversely , a common striped woodlouse , philoscia muscorum , is a definite runner . . .
zimmer , m . , t . werner . 1998 . microorganisms and cellulose digestion in the gut of the woodlouse porcellio scaber . journal of chemical ecology , 24 : 1397 - 1408 .
the president and fellows of harvard college . 2013 .
common rough woodlouse
( on - line ) . boston harbor islands @ harvard university . accessed january 31 , 2013 at urltoken .
woodlice are widespread and common animals . this fold - out chart provides a simple woodlouse identification trail to the species that are most likely to be encountered in gardens or in and around buildings .
woodlice have the ability to increase in number quickly . in some species the female lays eggs three times a year with approximately fifty eggs laid each time . the common garden woodlouse species , found inside uk homes , lays one clutch of 150 eggs a year . the female woodlouse retains the eggs in a pouch on her body until they hatch . the hatchlings start life measuring approximately 2 millimeters .
apart from body form , shape and colour , another useful diagnostic feature is the antennae and it is important to examine the individual sections . for example , the common rough woodlouse , porcello scaber , has a flagellum ( end section of an antennae ) made up of 2 segments whereas the common striped woodlouse has a 3 - segmented flagellum . we were equipped with microscopes to observe these finer details .
woodlice feed on dead organic matter , which they detect by means of taste and smell ( 2 ) . the common woodlouse is gregarious , and typically spends the day concealed beneath stones , logs and other objects . when threatened , this species defends itself by clamping down onto the surface ; the feet can grip the substrate very tightly , and this woodlouse is able to cling on tenaciously ( 2 ) .
gunn , d . 1937 . the humidity reactions of the woodlouse ; porcellio scaber ( latreille ) . the journal of experimental biology , 14 : 178 - 186 . accessed january 31 , 2013 at urltoken .
bites by the woodlouse spider , dysdera crocata , are virtually innocuous . the main symptom is minor pain , typically lasting less than 1 hr , probably due mostly to the mechanical puncture of the skin .
and therefore only eats organic plant matter . the woodlouse rarely eats live plants and feeds on the decaying leaf and plant matter found on the forest floor such as leaves , rotting wood and fruits that fall from the trees above .
it’s the turn of swine next : various historical names for the woodlouse riff on a connection with pigs . hog - louse and swine - louse crop up in the 16 th century , with timber - sow in the 17 th and sow - bug found by the 18 th century ; hog - beetle was another rare option . this is also seen in other languages – for instance , the spanish cochinilla , ‘woodlouse’ , is the diminutive of cochina , ‘sow’ .
bilton , d . t . , goode , d . and mallet , j . ( 1999 ) genetic differentiation and natural hybridisation between two morphological forms of the common woodlouse , oniscus asellus linnaeus 1758 . heredity , 82 : 462 - 469 .
did you find any words particular to reading ? the only local word anybody mentioned was ' cheeselog ' ( meaning ' woodlouse ' - ed ) . i think it comes from an american cake that ' s long and thin , and has segments .
around my way children sometimes call them ' cheesy - bobs ' . to me they were always ' woodlice ' . there seems to be mostly the type of woodlouse which doesn ' t roll up where i live . they are flatter and dull , compared with the ones which do roll up . i remember as a child finding a curled up woodlouse , and throwing it down on the patio to see if it bounced . it did , quite well , but i felt so guilty in case i hurt it .
in our brief foray in the bitter wind , we found 5 different species - four of the famous five and porcellio dilatatus . we know there are at least seven different species in the garden in addition to the honourary woodlouse , the landhopper , arcitralitrus dorrieni .
the common woodlouse occurs in moist places in many habitats , and is frequently found under bark and amongst leaf litter in gardens and woodlands ( 1 ) . this species avoids dry habitats , and unlike many woodlice , it can tolerate acid soils ( 2 ) .
ubiquitous throughout britain , the common woodlouse ( subspecies oniscus asellus asellus ) is one of the most widespread and common terrestrial arthropods in western europe ( 3 ) . the subspecies o . asellus occidentalis is found mainly in the south - west of britain and western france ( 3 ) .
ubiquitous throughout britain , the common woodlouse ( subspecies oniscus asellus asellus ) is one of the most widespread and common terrestrial arthropods in western europe ( 3 ) . the subspecies o . asellus occidentalis is found mainly in the south - west of britain and western france ( 3 ) .
the study day , held in the angela marmont centre for uk biodiversity , was led by museum scientists miranda lowe and duncan sivell and covered an introduction to woodlouse anatomy and classification , as well as ecology and recording methods . below are just a few of the many interesting facts we learnt :
the common woodlouse is one of the commonest and widely spread of the british woodlice ( 1 ) . woodlice are not insects , but are crustaceans ; more closely related to crabs and shrimps than insects . the body is divided into three main regions , the head , the thorax ( known in woodlice as the ' pereion ' ) , and the abdomen ( ' pleon ' ) ( 2 ) . the common woodlouse is typically grey with irregular light patches , but yellow and orange forms may occur near to the sea ( 2 ) . the surface of the body is dotted with raised blotches ; adults usually have a glossy body , but in contrast juveniles often have a rough body texture ( 2 ) . there are currently two recognised subspecies of the common woodlouse , oniscus asellus asellus and o . asellus occidentalis , which differ in the details of their appearance and ecology ( 3 ) .
1995 , olaf breidbach , wolfram kutsch ( editors ) , the nervous systems of invertebrates : an evolutionary and comparative approach , page 193 , in addition , both the woodlouse and the crayfish possess an unpaired medial nerve which runs along the whole length of the ventral nerve cord , linking adjacent ganglia .
hopkin , s . , g . hardisty , m . martin . 1986 . the woodlouse porcellio scaber as a ' biological indicator ' of zinc , cadmium , lead and copper pollution . environmental pollution ( series b ) , 11 : 271 - 290 . accessed january 31 , 2013 at urltoken .
woodlice are not insects , but are crustaceans ; more closely related to crabs and shrimps than insects . the body is divided into three main regions , the head , the thorax ( known in woodlice as the ' pereion ' ) , and the abdomen ( ' pleon ' ) ( 2 ) . the pill woodlouse is so called because it is able to roll into a ball when threatened ; it is often confused with the pill millipede ( glomeris marginata ) for this reason ( 3 ) . this woodlouse is typically slate grey in colour , but red or patchy forms may arise ( 2 ) .
the common woodlouse ( oniscus asellus ) is one of the commonest and widely spread of the british woodlice ( 1 ) . woodlice are not insects , but are crustaceans ; more closely related to crabs and shrimps than insects . the body is divided into three main regions , the head , the thorax ( known in woodlice as the ' pereion ' ) , and the abdomen ( ' pleon ' ) ( 2 ) . the common woodlouse is typically grey with irregular light patches , but yellow and orange forms may occur near to the sea ( 2 ) . the surface of the body is dotted with raised blotches ; adults usually have a glossy body , but in contrast juveniles often have a rough body texture ( 2 ) . there are currently two recognised subspecies of the common woodlouse , oniscus asellus asellus and o . asellus occidentalis , which differ in the details of their appearance and ecology ( 3 ) .
still in use in scotland , australia , and new zealand , slater is a term for a woodlouse that dates back to the 17 th century ( found in the earliest instances as sclater ) . as with the armadillo reference , slater presumably comes from the ridged nature of the backs of woodlice looking like slates .
the landhopper or woodhopper is the only truly terrestrial anmphipod occuring in the british isles . it is not native , but originates from eastern australia , and was first found in britain early in the 20th century . arcitalitrus dorrieni has been adopted by bmig as an
honorary woodlouse
to provide a focus for recording .
the scientific or latin name for a woodlouse is armadillidium vulgare . they may be small , but they have an important role to play in helping decompose the cellulose in wood and paper . they also help break down animal feces and turn it into useful manure . their natural habitat is in leaf litter in woodland and shrub areas .
and they’ve really made a go of it too . there are over 40 different varieties of woodlouse common to the british isles , but there are a far greater variety of different names and spellings for the species as a whole , depending on location , imagination and the ability to think laterally . too many to count , in fact .
there’s not a lot to do in the british countryside , especially if you’re whiling the decades away waiting for someone to invent the internet . so you can’t blame the residents of a tiny island nation for choosing to pass the time creating quite so many cute little names for the common woodlouse . for entertainment value , it will have very much been the facebook of its day .
besides the common maltese woodlouse , which one may occasionally find in a residence , the common woodlouse , armadillidium vulgare , ħanzir l - art komuni , is the most familiar one in establishments and unfortunately the one which is regarded the most as a pest . these creatures are harmless and also beneficial , but seen as pests because they tend to congregate in large numbers . on some house facades each year , thousands cover the facades during the evening and then disperse or die out in the morning . this behaviour is still a phenomenon not understood . this species may reach a length of 18 mm , 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 confusion with pill millipede species .
various names for the woodlouse are constructed from the combinations of lock and chest , and though the origin is uncertain , it has been suggested that this refers to the woodlouse’s ability to roll itself up tightly – that is , to lock its chest . lockchest and lockchester are both attested in medieval english , and continued into the 20 th century in some regional englishes , while it has been suggested that the 16 th - century cheslock is a reversed equivalent . as a . s . palmer wrote in his 1904 work folk and their word - lore , it ‘long survived in oxfordshire in the form of lockchester and lockchest ’ . an alternative theory has been put forward for lockchest , that it may be an alteration of the classical latin locusta , denoting a kind of crustacean , perhaps a lobster .
note : of course , these terms are part of an oral tradition , and so while there are pockets of commonly used terms in certain areas , they are by no means definitive , and do get passed down through families even as those families move around the country . so if you excitedly show a grammasow to a friend from penryn and they look confused and explain that it’s just a woodlouse , don’t be too disheartened .
similar to lockchest , it appears that lugdor is a combination of lock and door . a door isn’t as obvious an element in the woodlouse’s ‘locking’ as a chest , and perhaps that is why dor has also been submitted as a possible element in lugdor ’s etymology . dor refers to ‘an insect that flies with a loud humming noise’ – that is , it has an entomological use , but usually for a different type of insect .
there’s no obvious connection between monkeys and woodlice – but monkey pea is found as a term for a woodlouse in the late 17 th century and survived for some time in british regional use . a potentially related , though long obsolete , option is monk’s peason . the addition of pea is ( like pill ) presumably with reference to the shape of the insect when it is curled up – and also appears in pea - bug .
you’ll notice a definite porcine theme developing there too , and this continues across a great deal of the woodlouse nicknames that have stuck over the years . the people of bristol have been known to call them slunkerpigs , or there’s woodpigs , timperpigs and penny sows . in fact , some people from cornwall and devon managed to achieve double bacon by calling them sowpigs ( or , as it came out in the local accent ; zowpigs ) .
britain’s non - marine isopods are divided into two sub - orders : asellota , the aquatic waterlice , and oniscidea , the terrestrial woodlice . just four species of waterlouse , but 40 species of woodlouse are known to occur in th e wild in britain ( gregory , 2009 ) . woodlice and waterlice are detritivores , mainly feeding upon organic detritus , such as dead leaves , dead wood , etc . some will also graze algae and fungi .
please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from wikipedia or other free sources online . pages : 24 . chapters : porcellionidae , woodlice of europe , list of woodlice of the british isles , armadillidium , woodlouse , hemilepistus reaumuri , philosciidae , trichoniscidae , armadillidium vulgare , trichoniscus , trichoniscus pusillus , armadillidiidae , androniscus dentiger , porcellionides , haplophthalmus , ligidium , ligia oceanica , styloniscus , pseudarmadillo , oniscus asellus , armadillidium pictum , . . . read more
with the return of wintry weather there’s little chance of finding many flying insects at the moment so - when not pruning or planting up hedge gaps in the wildlife garden - we’ve been focusing on animals found at ground level under stones , logs , leaf litter and within pitfall traps ( n . b . more about pitfall traps another time ) . amongst these animals , woodlice are a rewarding group to study as some of us learnt at a woodlouse workshop we attended a week ago last sunday .
let’s start with my favourite . it may be obsolete , and was always rare , but robin goodfellow’s louse has been found as a term for the woodlouse in the mid - 16 th century . as for robin goodfellow , he was a mischievous sprite or goblin believed to haunt the countryside ; an account of his purported activities is included by shakespeare in a midsummer night’s dream , where his exploits include leading travellers astray in the dark , interfering with the churning of butter , and playing practical jokes on women .
woodlice : everyone knows them but they’re not exactly held in great esteem , even though they deserve better . in the netherlands they’re known as ‘pissabeds’ , because according to popular mythology , eating them was supposed to cure bed - wetting . there are more than 11 , 000 species of woodlice and other isopods worldwide , 39 of which are found in the netherlands . the smallest of these live underground and are just a few millimetres long while the biggest , a littoral woodlouse known as the ‘sea roach’ , may reach up to 4 . 5 centimetres in length .
pedantic little sod that i was ( am ? ) , i would get almost apoplectic at school every time someone spoke of ' a woodlice ' . apart from that , they are really quite interesting being aquatic . i think they have gills . i saw one in my pond quite happily wandering about under the surface . well if he wasn ' t a woodlouse , he was certainly a very close relative . apart from all that , its name reminds me of a large lady in sensible shoes blowing up horses ' noses and talking in a silly voice to dogs .
some local names for woodlice are roly - polies and pill - bugs . these names relate to their ability to form little balls with their armor plating on the outside , protecting their soft innards . their tough outer shell or exoskeleton has to be shed regularly to enable a woodlouse to grow and mature . the shedding is done in two stages . first it sloughs the rear half of its armor plating and then two or three days later it loses the front half of its exoskeleton . the shedding is done in stages in order to minimize the vulnerability of the creature during the short period it is without its armor .
among the most - read papers at the journal of experimental biology last month was a blast from the past — a 1937 paper about the humidity - seeking behaviour of the common woodlouse by d . l . gunn of the university of birmingham , uk . gunn used specially built chambers to watch the crustaceans — which thrive on wet wood — avoid dryness , principally by hunkering down in humid places and staying still . gunn looked for the location of the creature ' s humidity receptor by removing candidate regions of the body or blocking them with vaseline or paraffin ; he concluded that the relevant organs were not on the abdomen or head .
in the common woodlouse porcellio scaber different parts of the gut were observed with respect to microbial counts , cellulose activity , and degradation of cellulose . cellulose is mainly digested in the anterior part of the hindgut , as was indicated by the distribution of cellulolytic activity and the decrease of cellulose content inside the gut . the cellulases woodlice utilize for the degradation of litter are mainly produced by endosymbiotic bacteria in the hepatopancreas rather than by microorganisms ingested with the food . microorganisms ingested with the litter are digested in the anterior part of the hindgut and may provide an important food source . in the posterior hindgut , bacterial proliferation ensures microbial colonization of feces .
the pill bug goes by many names—roly - poly , woodlouse , armadillo bug , potato bug . but whatever you call it , it ' s a fascinating creature . . . or actually 4 , 000 species of creature . the nocturnal crustaeans have seven pairs of legs , segmented sections like a lobster ' s tail , and prefer humid environments . they eat rotting vegetation and help nutrients in it get returned to the soil for plants to feed on , so they ' re not pests . they don ' t bother living vegetation . these insights into pill bugs will give you a newfound respect for the tiny tank living beneath your flower pots .
, if we ' re being technical ) . my dinner companions were discussing why we call woodlice what we do ; to my grandmother they were always ' cheesybugs ' , but to the others at the table they were ' monkeypeas ' , ' slaters ' ( which to me is a sort of marine arthropod , instead of a woodlouse ) , ' pillbugs ' or ' pill millipedes ' . i ' ve heard them called ' doodlebugs ' , ' armadillo - bugs ' and ' rolypolys ' before , but does anyone know of any others . it strikes me that for such small creatures , they ' re positively embarrased by common names . or does anyone know of any other animals with more alternative common names ?
woodlice undergo a series of moults before reaching maturity , growing at each stage ; the stages between these moults are known as ' stadia ' , and are generally similar in structure and appearance . mature woodlice continue to moult . prior to moulting , the calcium contained in the old cuticle is removed and stored as conspicuous white blotches , these blotches disappear after moulting as the calcium is used to reinforce the new cuticle ( 2 ) . the rear part of the body moults a few days before the front half , and occasionally woodlice may be seen with half a pinkish body and half a ' usual ' grey body for this reason ( 4 ) . the discarded cuticle is frequently eaten by the newly moulted woodlouse ( 2 ) .
woodlice feed on dead organic matter , which they detect by means of taste and smell ( 2 ) . during the breeding season , reproductive females develop a ' brood pouch ' , which consists of overlapping leaf - like structures known as ' oostegites ' , that form a ' false floor ' below the body . the fertilised eggs pass into this fluid - filled chamber , and the young crawl out of the brood pouch when they are fully developed .
this species is very common in the south - east of england , is found in parts of western and northern england and becomes rare in scotland ( 2 ) .
you can view distribution information for this species at the national biodiversity network atlas .
occurs only on calcareous soils , except in coastal areas ( 2 ) , and is able to withstand much drier conditions than most other woodlice ( 3 ) . it shows a distinct preference for chalky or limestone sites with stony turf ( 2 ) .
there may be further information about this species available via the national biodiversity network atlas .
this information is awaiting authentication by a species expert , and will be updated as soon as possible . if you are able to help please contact : arkive @ urltoken
abdomen in arthropods ( crustaceans , insects and arachnids ) the abdomen is the hind region of the body , which is usually segmented to a degree . in crustacea ( e . g . crabs ) the limbs attach to the abdomen ; in insects the limbs are attached to the thorax ( the part of the body nearest to the head ) and not the abdomen . in vertebrates the abdomen is the part of the body that contains the internal organs ( except the heart and lungs ) . calcareous containing free calcium carbonate , chalky . thorax part of the body located near the head in animals . in insects , the three segments between the head and the abdomen , each of which has a pair of legs .
sutton , s . l . ( 1972 ) invertebrate types : woodlice . ginn & company ltd . , london .
nichols , d . , cooke , j . & whiteley , d . ( 1971 ) the oxford book of invertebrates . oxford university press , oxford .
nature picture library 5a great george street bristol bs1 5rr united kingdom tel : + 44 ( 0 ) 117 911 4675 fax : + 44 ( 0 ) 117 911 4699 info @ urltoken http : / / www . urltoken
terms of use - the displayed portlet may be used as a link from your website to arkive ' s online content for private , scientific , conservation or educational purposes only . it may not be used within apps .
myarkive offers the scrapbook feature to signed - up members , allowing you to organize your favourite arkive images and videos and share them with friends .
team wild , an elite squadron of science superheroes , needs your help ! your mission : protect and conserve the planet’s species and habitats from destruction .
wildscreen is a registered charity in england and wales no . 299450 wildscreen usa is a registered 501 ( c ) ( 3 ) non - profit organisation in the usa
place an ad to recruit pest control employees , or to advertise your availability if you are looking for work in the pest control industry .
sowbugs are land crustaceans which look very similar to pillbugs , at least at first glance . sowbugs are small crustaceans with oval bodies when viewed from above . their back consists of a number of overlapping , articulating plates . they have 7 pairs of legs , and antennae which reach about half the body length . most are slate gray in color , and may reach about 15 mm long and 8 mm wide .
the pillbug on the other hand has a rounder back , from side to side , and a deeper body , from back to legs . when disturbed , it frequently rolls into a tight ball , with its legs tucked inside , much like its larger but dissimilar counterpart the armadillo .
sowbugs have gills which need constant moisture , so they tend to live in moister northwest climates . they are primarily nocturnal , and eat decaying leaf litter and vegetable matter . they may also feed on the tips of young plants , so can be considered pests , but they also help the environment by breaking up decaying plant matter and help speed up the recycling of the nutrients they contain .
the presence of sow bugs or pill bugs in the living quarters of a home is an indication high moisture conditions . this condition will also contribute to a number of other problems including mildew , wood rot and a good breeding environment for other insects .
reduce moisture or humidity level indoors . use bathroom fans , stove hood vent fans , vent clothes dryers outside . crawl spaces and attics need to be well ventilated .
remove excess vegetation and debris around exterior perimeter of the home . make sure that leaf debris ( leaves hold moisture and hide the bugs ) is cleaned up from around the outside of your house . keep rain gutters and downspouts clean and in good repair .
instead of chemicals , use a caulking gun to close any cracks or crevices at or near ground level . houses built on a concrete slab poured directly on the ground , can have more of a problem with sow bugs or pill bugs if there is no moisture barrier under the concrete .
built - in planters are usually a bad idea for many reasons . window box planters and planter boxes on decks tight against the house are good breeding places for many bugs .
make sure all your doors ( ground level , to the outside ) are weather - stripped . if your garage is attached or integral with the house , make sure those doors are properly weather - stripped also .
a perimeter pesticide spray may help break the cycle for a short time but will not eliminate the problem permanently . remember , if you don’t solve the moisture problem , the bugs will return no matter what chemicals you use , or how much you use them .
thorax is comparatively large and is composed of 7 hard individual but overlapping plates .
female gives birth to numerous , live young and carries her young in a pouch ( marsupium ) on the underside of the body . the brood is carries for an average of 44 days . usually 2 new generations are produced per year depending on environmental conditions with an average of 28 young in brood . new generation are white in colour . 1st moult within 24 hours ( 7th pair of legs appear after 1st moult ) . 2nd moult during 2nd week . 3rd moult during 3rd week . 4th instar moults every 2 weeks until the animal is 20 weeks old . after 20 weeks , periods between moults are irregular .
habitat prefer moist locations and are found under objects on damp ground or under vegetable debris . have been known to bury themselves under several centimeters of soil . can at times invade damp basements , fern houses and first floors of houses indicating large number present outside the house nearby .
pest status in rare instances can become pests of young plants ( especially in fern houses where climatic conditions are ideal ) . the slater does not bite and is harmless . in unusual climatic conditions ( extreme wet ) , they can invade houses in large numbers creating concern for occupants . their presence though is short - lived because these animals die from desiccation . neither adults nor young are considered pests .
control habitat and food requirement leaves wide variety of areas to inhabit in gardens etc . because of this need they cannot survive away from its ideal environment thus it will not breed or survive for long indoors . a high degree of moisture is required for survival .
these bugs play a vital roll in composting organic matter in the garden and compost bins . they can be more effective making soil than earthworms .
sowbugs and pillbugs get blamed for more damage to garden plants than they actually do . they are deemed guilty as they are often found feeding in decaying or damaged garden produce , after diseases , slugs and other pests have inflict the initial damage . they are great opportunists .
most annoyingly , sowbugs and pillbugs feed on tender seedlings , young roots , flowers and fruits and vegetables laying directly on damp soil . most active at night , sowbugs hide in dark , moist protected areas during the day , such as under flowerpots , decaying leaves on the soil surface , boards , mulches and ground cover . they thrive under sprinkler irrigation .
> limit moist , dark hiding places . clean up organic debris , boards , boxes and piles of leaves around the yard and garden .
> water early in the day so plants and the soil surface dries out by the evening when sow or pill bugs are active .
> mulch with coarse materials , so water passes through to the soil quickly .
> elevate fruits and vegetables off the ground with old strawberry baskets or pebbles . black plastic mulches are good because they get too hot in the summer to provide desirable shelter for sow bugs .
> plant seeds deeply and do not water until seedlings have their first true leaves . or start seedlings indoors . then to maintain good drainage , transplant seedlings into the garden so that the soil around seedlings is higher than surrounding garden soil .
> a non toxic method for sow bug control is to place a rolled up newspaper tube on the soil surface . leave it overnight . in the morning , shake out the tubes into a pail of soapy water .
another less toxic method to control sow bugs is to sprinkle diatomaceous earth directly on the row where seeds have been planted to dry the soil surface enough to discourage sow bugs . experiment with the amount of diatomaceous earth , as too thin a layer will not be effective and too thick a layer can become like plaster if it becomes wet .
various species of sow and pill bugs are common around the world but they have many different names .
john germon was born and raised in the devon stannary town of ashburton . he attended both the primary and
and has a keen interest in local dialect . john ' s been the chairman of ashburton devon dialect club for more years than he cares to remember .
as town clerk of the south devon stannary town of ashburton , you will often see john dashing around dealing with all sorts of issues .
he also plays a very active part in the community - and at carnival time you will see him in a totally different light .
john is chairman of the ashburton devon dialect club and has compiled this a - z . if you want to know how to pronounce the words in a true devon accent , just click on the link and john will read them out to you .
how well do you know your devon dialect ? have a bit of fun and try john ' s dialect challenge . launch quiz
once you think you ' ve mastered the art of ' speakin ' like wot we duz ' you can put your new found skills to the test by taking john ' s devon dialect challenge .
this multiple choice quiz will help you find out just how much you know about the words john ' s been teaching you . just click on the link to launch the quiz - there are no prizes , it ' s just for fun . * please note - to be able to listen to john reading the words , you will need to have real player installed on your computer .
bbc devon website , broadcasting house , seymour road , plymouth , pl3 5bd phone : 01752 229201 | e - mail : devon . online @ urltoken | e - mail radio devon : radio . devon @ urltoken
we spoke to professor paul kerswill of lancaster university . paul has conducted research into the accent of reading , having lived in the town for 18 years . he made some interesting discoveries about the changes in the way people are speaking .
tell us about your work .
we looked at reading as a contrast to milton keynes ( a new town ) . reading is an older town which is about the same distance from london , so we compared pronunciations . we found that reading is gradually changing its accent and becoming a bit more like london . older people have the berkshire accent , which to many people sounds west country , but young people sound more like london , but not like cockneys .
is this change due to the expansion of london ?
yes . as people are getting more mobile , they move out of london , they commute and travel more for leisure . it ' s these people who are acquiring a more levelled - out accent . but the local accent is still there quite strongly in reading . if you listen to older families , with two or three generations living within a few streets , they maintain a much more local accent .
do you think our voices are becoming homogenised ?
it would be a pity if it were no longer possible to hear where people come from . the people i met in reading were certainly very proud to be from reading even though from the outside it ' s perceived as a satellite of london .
there are plenty of other influences in reading , though , like the immigrant communities .
especially among teenagers . young people are most interested in their peer groups , and that quite often cuts across ethnic divides , so sometimes you find kids of english origin taking on pronunciations and words from asian or caribbean kids . all the ethnic groups share those features .
did you find anything particularly unusual in your research ?
one thing we looked at was whether reading teenagers could pick out a reading accent . they placed the reading accents on the tape firmly in the west country - an elderly person ' s accent in reading sounds to the teenagers like somerset . middle - aged people were thought to have come from wiltshire or somewhere like that . but they picked out the cockney voices straight away .
so , it must be an interesting place for linguists to study , then .
it was interesting to see the clash between something west country and something london .
i am a reading bloke in my 60s , though i moved away in the late 1970s . i remember the term
cheeselog
well , and always wondered about it . as well as slang , there were urban myths associated with the town , many of them rather rude . one popular myth related to simmonds carthorses , and others centred on the public toilets at the cemetery junction ; i heard ricky gervais repeat one on tv recently as if it was a real and recent event . my dad had a broad reading accent . i have retained some of this , but is is mixed with a home counties sound . i heard mike walker , the football manager , speaking a while back . . . . that is how i sound , i think .
i grew up in henley - on - thames just 8 miles from reading and on the borders of berks . bucks and oxon . outside of henley no one i ever met had heard the term
cheeselog
that is until i moved to the high wycombe area in bucks where local - born people were familiar with the word . strange though was that my grandmother , who was from central london , also always called the little critters
cheeselogs !
i was born and brought up in reading , and definitely say cheeselog ! the only other word which i know of which i think is local to reading , is that when children in the playground cross their fingers to temporarily be out of a game , they say
cribs
. ( or they used to ! ? ) i agree that an old berkshire accent can sound west country . i think the most distinctive part of the accent is pronouncing
ow
sounds as
ai
as in
traisers
instead of
trousers .
it always makes me chuckle when i hear other people say these things ! ! i never realised i had an accent either but my student friends from other towns laugh when i say ' fri - dee ' instead of fri - day and ' roight ' instead of right . i too also say cheeselog , and am interested in the theory of cockney to cornish ! ! it sounds true to me ! !
i ' m born and bred in reading as are all my family . imust say though that the main accent in reading is african and asian . true readingers are a fast dying breed
i am from tilehurst born & bred , i was on holiday in floida a few years back , whilst in a restaurant an american lady came over to me and said she was sorry to bother me but she just loved my berkshire accent , i had no idea that i even had an accent but it is nice to know that i have . i also use the word cheeselog a lot , now lots of people i know in the brighton area now call them cheeselogs too !
i lived in reading until i was eighteen , left twenty years for the north - west , and still have relatives in newbury . my friends tell me that my accent is still strong , but only people from reading seem able to distinguish the reading accent from the various london ones . i remember using the word cheeselog and it ' s a word that i still use . i had no idea tbat it was virtually unique to reading . are there are any other words that are specific to reading ?
prof . kerswill demostrates his total ignorance of berkshire speech . my grandparents , who married in 1906 lived in reading in the same house until they died in 1968 sounded nothing like those originating in the west country . i was educated in newbury and have not a trace of anything approaching the dialects heard in devon or cornwall . i once met a lady who sounded american but in fact came from plymouth , and the story goes that since the first britons to arrive in america were largely from the west country , their speech pattern maintained and became the generalised accent associated with the united states today . incidentally , it is
bark
shire in britain but
burk
shire in the us .
i have just goggled cheeselog and was delighted to find your site . i am born and breed in reading and married to a lancastrian . he had never heard of cheeselogs and so i have done my own research into this word , by asking people i meet over the town , county and country . it is true it is a word used mainly by people from reading , but some from wallingford were also aware of its meaning .
i comfrom wokingham 5 miles southeast of reading . hisorically wokingham was firmly part of county wiltshire , so even some local teenagers speak with the traditionhal wetcountry accent . however a more easternn prononciation of words is becoming ever more prominant in the area .


the vaurie 's nightjar ( caprimulgus centralasicus ) is a species of nightjar in the family caprimulgidae .

it is endemic to china .

its natural habitat is cold desert .

however , it is threatened by habitat loss .

this bird is only known from a single 1929 specimen from xinjiang , china .

it has never been found again , and it is quite possibly invalid as it has not yet been compared to the similar subspecies of the european nightjar , c. europaeus plumipes , which occurs at the locality where c. centralasicus was found .

vaurie ' s nightjar

select an image : 1 . vaurie ' s nightjar > > type specimen 2 . vaurie ' s nightjar > > type specimen 3 . vaurie ' s nightjar > > type specimen 4 . vaurie ' s nightjar
leader 2009 . is vaurie ' s nightjar caprimulgus centralasicus a valid species ? birding asia 11 : 4750 .
leader , pj 2009 . asian enigma : is vaurie ' s nightjar caprimulgus centralasicus a valid species ? birding asia 11 : 47 - 50 .
since vaurie ' s nightjar is known from a single specimen , then if it was the last of its kind , it would be extinct now anyway .
don ' t forget that there is a subspecies of the nightjar in nw china , c . europaeus plumipes . maybe you ' ve seen this bird rather than the vaurie ' s nightjar ( if it is really exist ) .
it ' s wings have been clipped to and it ' s very tame . so someone has been taking care of it .
known only from this type specimen , which was collected in ‘sandy scrub - jungle’ by frank ludlow at pishan ( formerly goma ) ( 37° 31’n . , 78° 17’e ) , in xinjiang on september 7 , 1929 and described as a new species in vaurie 1960 . refs : vaurie , c . ( 1960 ) systematic notes on palearctic birds , no . 39 : caprimuligidae : a new species of caprimulgus . amer . mus . novit . no . 1985 . leader , p . j . ( 2009 ) is vaurie ' s nightjar caprimulgus centralasicus a valid species ? birdingasia 11 : 47 - 50 .
looking forward for the paper , but i would like to see dna analysis . actualy , some cleverdick could analyze dna of nightjars . he might also discover several overlooked nightjar species worldwide . about vaurie ' s - i think it is an aberrant bird . if not , there is no reason why it should be extinct . i guess practicaly nobody surveyed for nightjars in w china !
cleere , n . & kirwan , g . m . ( 2018 ) . vaurie’s nightjar ( caprimulgus centralasicus ) . in : del hoyo , j . , elliott , a . , sargatal , j . , christie , d . a . & de juana , e . ( eds . ) . handbook of the birds of the world alive . lynx edicions , barcelona . ( retrieved from urltoken on 9 july 2018 ) .
there ' s been a lot of habitat degradation in xinjiang , according to the red list data .
no , it ' s pawel kwak beer ( est 1791 ) , after three 330ml bottles . . .
unknown , but species ( if valid ) is assumed to be a migrant given that winter bird community of s . . .
hello , i ' m an expat living in china and my wife found a nightjar / nighthawk on the ground while walking to the store . we ' re trying to identify what kind of nightjar / nighthawk it is and was wondering if you guys could help ? if i get any replies i ' ll take a picture and put it online asap . thanks .
only members are able to post public comments . to make the most of all of hbw ' s features , discover our subscriptions now !
leader acknowledges possible habitat changes . he also notes that , given the winter temperatures at the type location , it is most unlikely that the nightjar would be a permanent resident , and suggests that it should be looked for in oct - apr in the deserts and semi - deserts of pakistan and n & w india ( perhaps overlooked among sykes ' s ) ; and could also be just a migrant through s xinjiang , breeding further n in the taklamakan or gobi deserts .
if you have videos , photographs or sound recordings you can share them on the internet bird collection . it ' s free and easy to do .
paul leader describes how in june 2004 he and and three others spent two weeks in southern xinjiang , including several days and nights at the type locality of the nightjar ( pishan , between kashgar and hotan ) , without success .
one amazing fact ( new to me anyway ) : paul leader notes that the first of only two specimens of leucosticte sillemi was collected on the same day ( 7 sep ) as the nightjar , also in xinjiang , although 250km to the s ( with the second on the following day ) . i knew that both species were collected in the same year ( 1929 ) , but had never appreciated that it was on exactly the same day . what are the chances of that - 2 species never to be seen again ?
one amazing fact ( new to me anyway ) : paul leader notes that the first of only two specimens of leucosticte sillemi was collected on the same day ( 7 sep ) as the nightjar , also in xinjiang , although 250km to the s ( with the second on the following day ) . i knew that both species were collected in the same year ( 1929 ) , but had never appreciated that it was on exactly the same day . what are the chances of that - 2 species never to be seen again ? richard
w china ( sw xinjiang ) , where possibly occurs throughout s tarim basin along kun lun ; speculated to breed in taklamakan desert or as far n as gobi desert and to winter in semi - deserts of pakistan and nw india # r .
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ oriental bird club - helping to save asia ' s threatened birds . urltoken
birdforum is the net ' s largest birding community , dedicated to wild birds and birding , and is absolutely free ! you are most welcome to register for an account , which allows you to take part in lively discussions in the forum , post your pictures in the gallery and more .
did you need special permits ? and were you restricted to the main highway when transiting aksai chin , or was it possible to travel freely towards the indian border ? ( the sillem ' s type locality is in the extreme west of aksai chin , very close to the border with jammu & kashmir . )
black robin petroica traversi the black robin was the world ' s rarest bird , and is new zealand ' s comeback hero from the brink of extinction . extinction could not have been any closer in 1980 when there was one female named old blue and her breeding partner and three other males , but the black robin has been brought back to a population of about 254 . when old blue died it was announced in parliament . its status has been lowered to endangered on the 2007 iucn red list . the black robin is found only on three small islands in the chatham islands and remains ' nationally critical ' on the 2005 nz threat
i haven ' t checked , but if i remember right these specimens are from a region that , at least in part , is off - limits to birders ( foreign , not sure about chinese ) . the region is certainly considered
politically sensitive
by chinese authorities ( uyghur issue , nearby tibet issue , china - india border issue ) and there is a rather heavy military presence . . . possibly making it somewhat difficult to freely search for these species without risking being shot ( ! ) . i know birders have looked for the nightjar near the region where the specimen was collected . has anyone managed to do the same for the mountain - finch ?
html public
- / / w3c / / dtd xhtml 1 . 0 strict / / en
urltoken
thank you for taking the time to provide feedback on the iucn red list of threatened species website , we are grateful for your input .
del hoyo , j . , collar , n . j . , christie , d . a . , elliott , a . and fishpool , l . d . c . 2014 . hbw and birdlife international illustrated checklist of the birds of the world . volume 1 : non - passerines . lynx edicions birdlife international , barcelona , spain and cambridge , uk .
justification : despite recent searches , this species is known from only one specimen , the provenance of which has been debated . as such , there is insufficient information available for an assessment of its threat status .
this species is only known from its type specimen and as such no population estimates are available . trend justification : the current population trend is unknown as the species is only known from a single record .
the type - specimen was collected in sandy scrub - jungle at 1 , 220 m and it presumably occurs in desert and semi - desert habitats .
there has been widespread degradation of desert and semi - desert habitats in the taklimakan desert through intensive grazing by goats and camels , extraction of fuelwood , and the conversion of huge areas to irrigated farmland . in 1990 , the habitats at the type - locality , guma , were found to have been very much altered since the 1920s .
to make use of this information , please check the < terms of use > .
taxonomic status perhaps questionable . known only from type specimen , an immature female originally identified as c . aegyptius , and compared only with that species when described ; further study of immature c . europaeus plumipes may also be of interest . recent reassessment , however , strongly supports probability that taxon is valid , specimen being markedly smaller than any plumipes even allowing for incomplete growth of wings # r . monotypic .
19 cm . known only from type specimen , a suspected immature female . closest in size to
possibly arid plains and sandy foothills covered in short scrub . type specimen was collected at . . .
not globally threatened . previously considered vulnerable ; now regarded as data deficient . restricted - range species : present in taklimakan ( taklamakan ) desert eba . taxonomic . . .
only subscribers are able to see the bibliography . login or subscribe to get access to a lot of extra features !
get access to the contents of the hbw including all species accounts , family texts , plates , audiovisual links , updates and related resources .
also available : 2 - year subscription package : 55 . 90 € ( instead of 59 . 90 € ) 3 - year subscription package : 82 € ( instead of 89 . 85 € )
supporting members help us to develop and update the project more quickly and to reach more people by keeping prices down .
view more information , tracking references to their source ( when available on the internet ) .
also available : 2 - year subscription package : 82 . 5 € ( instead of 89 . 9 € ) 3 - year subscription package : 122 . 5 € ( instead of 134 . 85 € )
there is a registration fee of 20€ . this is a one - time only fee when you become a subscriber of hbw alive . you won’t pay it again as long as you renew your subscription before it expires .
if you represent an organization or institution , click here for more information on institutional subscriptions .
hbw alive contains information on descriptive notes , voice , habitat , food and feeding , breeding , movements , status and conservation plus a list of bibliographical references for this species account .
despite recent searches , this species is known from only one specimen , the provenance of which has been debated . as such , there is insufficient information available for an assessment of its threat status .
recommended citation birdlife international ( 2018 ) species factsheet : caprimulgus centralasicus . downloaded from urltoken on 09 / 07 / 2018 . recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species : birdlife international ( 2018 ) iucn red list for birds . downloaded from urltoken on 09 / 07 / 2018 .
sonogram images © xeno - canto foundation . sonogram images share the same license terms as the recording they depict .
html public
- / / w3c / / dtd html 4 . 01 transitional / / en
html public
- / / w3c / / dtd xhtml 1 . 0 transitional / / en
urltoken
click here to go to the home page and find out more . | click here to join .
the type locality of the finch is in aksai chin , which is under chinese administration but claimed by india - so probably difficult to visit .
the type locality of the finch is in aksai chin , which is under chinese administration but claimed by india - so probably difficult to visit . richard
that must have been an interesting trip - certainly well off the beaten track . ( i know that ben king runs occasional tours to xinjiang , but only to the north . )
yes , it was an amazing trip . excellent views of tibetan sandgrouse and snowcock , as well as the ground jay . we did have permits , but these had been arranged by chinatibet travel in chengdu . we had an english speaking tibetan for a guide and a chinese driver . there were a few checkpoints in the odd town , but not a lot in the aksai chin , although we did bump into nomads in the most desolate places ! stunning scenery however , different views of k2 etc . tony
i knew that both species were collected in the same year ( 1929 ) , but had never appreciated that it was on exactly the same day . what are the chances of that - 2 species never to be seen again ?
unfortunately the llast specimens were collected and now the species are extinct . . .
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ valéry schollaert birds are disappearing because we destroy their natural habitat . by far , the main reason of this destruction is animal agriculture ; thus , the first essential step for all bird lovers : becoming vegan .
it is just to recall that when a new bird is found , killing the first specimen is not a good idea . . . we did in the past , whatever , but we should stop now .
you never now . . . urltoken it is just to recall that when a new bird is found , killing the first specimen is not a good idea . . . we did in the past , whatever , but we should stop now .
i don ' t disagree with you about present - day collection of specimens , but you can ' t really expect people to take you seriously when you make ridiculous comments about birds collected in 1929 .
obviously i forgot the smilies . . . ( i wanted to click on
go advanced
and clicked on
post quick reply
) . . .
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
. . . bureaucracy is a parasite that preys on free thought and suffocates free spirit . . .
douglas adams urltoken
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ the fuzziness of all supposedly absolute taxonomic distinctions - stephen jay gould ( 1977 )
ever since darwin : reflections in natural history
. species and subspecies are but a convenient fiction - kees van deemter ( 2010 ) ,
in praise of vagueness
. biology is messy
powered by vbulletin® , copyright ©2000 - 2018 vbulletin solutions , inc . © birdforum ltd 2002 - 2018