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Tag Archives: crustaceans

Log diving

13 Wednesday Jan 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects

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Tags

anthropods, Common shiny woodlouse, Common striped woodlouse, crustaceans, life under logs, millipede, Oniscus asellus, Philoscia muscorum, woodlice

It was grey and gloomy, the frost had knocked over the wildflowers I was hoping to find, and the birds were quiet in the trees, so where should I turn for wildlife? A spot of log diving was called for and, sure enough, the under-log dwellers didn’t disappoint. I found millipedes, which are probably one of the Polydesmus species but I can’t be sure …

210113 millipede polydesmus sp

And several Common shiny woodlice (Oniscus asellus) …

210113 Common shiny woodlouse

And also a Common striped woodlouse (Philoscia muscorum), not a species I’d noticed before, and this one was a bit shy about being photographed … but it had a very impressive rear end!

210113 Common striped woodlouse (1)
210113 Common striped woodlouse (2)

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Crabs in Kep in Cambodia

10 Wednesday Aug 2016

Posted by sconzani in nature

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Cambodia, crab market, crab traps, crabs, crustaceans, hermit crab, Kep

For world wildlife Wednesday this week we’re heading to Cambodia where I lived and worked for 7 months in 2013. In January that year, I visited the seaside town of Kep with some friends. Kep is particularly famous for its delicious crabs and, just as other places have huge statues of their typical food product (in New Zealand, Ohakune has an enormous carrot; in Australia, Woombye a huge pineapple – I’m sure there are others), so Kep has this large statue of a crab – a male crab I am reliably told – something to do with the width of the central plate on its tummy!

160810 kep crabs (1)
160810 kep crabs (2)

The locals make a living from farming and catching crabs, and it was interesting to watch them checking their traps in the warm waters near the crab market. Both the sunset, which we enjoyed at the one of the restaurants near the crab market, and the crabs we ate later, were superb, as were all the other types of fresh seafood we savoured in Kep: prawns, shrimps, fish, squid and octopus. Seafood is my absolute favourite food so I was in heaven.

160810 kep crabs (3)
160810 kep crabs (4)

Our beach walks also featured many crabs: this large one had escaped the traps and was blowing bubbles on the sand at the water’s edge (thought to be how crabs aerate their gills when out of water), and the tiny hermit crabs were fun to watch, scuttling along the sand with their homes on their backs.

160810 kep crabs (5)

160810 kep crabs (6)
160810 kep crabs (7)

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Slater, woodlouse or chiggy pig?

10 Sunday Jan 2016

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature, nature photography

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Tags

cemetery, crustaceans, insects, slater, woodlouse

As I was walking through my local cemetery today, I spotted a very thick, very wet newspaper lying on a fallen tree and I simply couldn’t resist taking a peek underneath. These are what I found, Common shiny woodlice (Oniscus asellus), one of the 45 (yes, 45!) native or naturalised species of woodlice in Britain.

160110 woodlice (1)

Did you know:

  • A woodlouse has fourteen jointed limbs, and breathes using lungs in its rear legs.
  • Although it’s a crustacean (like the oh-so-tasty lobsters and crabs), a woodlouse tastes like strong urine. I wonder who the crazy person was who discovered that interesting fact!
  • Just like earthworms, woodlice are good for the garden because they produce compost, aerate the soil and help control pests.
  • Woodlice prefer damp places because they lose a lot of moisture through excretion (plenty of evidence of that to be seen in my photos!).
  • In New Zealand it’s called a slater; in Reading, England it’s a cheeselog; in Devon it’s a chiggy pig; and in Cornwall it goes by the name of gramersow. Do you have a special name for this little critter? Let me know in the comments below.

160110 woodlice (2)

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About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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  • Turn, turn, turn January 14, 2021
  • Log diving January 13, 2021
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