One hot day this week I saw something I haven't seen before. I took the lid off my compost bin to add something, and lots of my woodlice friends scurried for cover. Most of them hid in the compost, but quite a few stayed in sight. They kept lifting and lowering their little legs a few at a time, but remaining stationary. I wonder if this is something they do to lose heat, by creating a bit of an air current? Perhaps it's a dance, and I'd interrupted a ball, or a disco party, or maybe they were practising semaphore signalling.
I found my first rosy woodlouse yesterday while moving a pile of rocks in the garden. Bright pink and nice and calm for photos. Then I dropped it while trying to focus one handed and couldn't find it again
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Me and the boys went looking for more pink woodlice today. We failed to find one, not just because my oldest boy insisted he was actually looking for an orange snail instead, but we did find a purple woodlouse which is apparently a Common Pygmy Woodlouse. It looked a lot more purple to the naked eye but I think the blue tone of my LED light has washed it out a bit.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
We have loads and loads of them here. I don’t feel the same way about them as most of you seem to as we have them in the house and always see them trekking across the bedroom and landing carpets. People say they do no harm but I remain unconvinced as I’ve had damage to plants which I think they are responsible for ....
I had no idea that there were so many different types.
"Nearly 50 types are found in Britain, of which 37 are native or
naturalised and the rest have arrived with imported houseplants... Some have two pairs of lungs, some seven and some no lungs at all... [You can make] 'excellent sauce for fish’, with boiled woodlice added to butter, flour, water, salt and pepper. ... Swallowed live, they [were said to] cure both whooping cough and constipation."
They make good pets: "They’re interesting to study and are very good if you have an allergy to the usual fluffy pets...They don’t bark at the neighbours and friends, don’t scratch the
furniture and don’t poo on the carpet – what more could you want?"
That’s certainly bizarre @Fire — not sure I would ever try making a sauce out of woodlice…
I can’t say I love them, but I make sure not to step on or hurt any ones I see. The one or two that may have wandered into the house I pick up carefully and put outside, and if I tidy up my tiny patio with a brush and dustpan (inevitably some woodlice end up in it) all the contents are always tipped back out into the borders.
I’m convinced they chewed one of my white lobelias to the ground, but it was pretty weak and small to begin with.
The only things under the Eternal Squishing Directive for me are rosemary beetles and slugs…
Nearly 50 types are found in Britain, of which 37 are native or
naturalised and the rest have arrived with imported houseplants...
Well there's another field guide I need to order then Apparently there's a Nosy Pill Woodlouse which is a bit more stripey and has a protruding nose, as well as a Southern Pill Woodlouse which is found locally.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
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@pansyface - not this year.
I can’t say I love them, but I make sure not to step on or hurt any ones I see. The one or two that may have wandered into the house I pick up carefully and put outside, and if I tidy up my tiny patio with a brush and dustpan (inevitably some woodlice end up in it) all the contents are always tipped back out into the borders.
I’m convinced they chewed one of my white lobelias to the ground, but it was pretty weak and small to begin with.
The only things under the Eternal Squishing Directive for me are rosemary beetles and slugs…
... and there's another wonderful illustration to add to our forthcoming book.