The ubiquitous Woodlouse

13 Thursday Feb 2025

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I’m still struggling to find many insects, probably because we’ve had a run of freezing nor’easterly winds and low temperatures, so those insects that overwinter as adults are very sensibly tucked away somewhere sheltered or buried deep beneath thick layers of mouldering vegetation.

Not so this little Woodlouse that I found walking along the park railings. And this surprised me as Woodlice are Isopods, related to crabs and lobsters, so they’re cold-blooded. That means they rely on their environment to warm them up and, when it’s cold, they’re usually inactive and tucked away under a log or in a rotting branch. Still, I read somewhere that fossil ancestors of our modern Woodlice have been found dating back to the Eocene period, which was 50 million years ago, so I guess these little creatures really are built to withstand tough conditions.

Woodlouse: Porcellio spinicornis

02 Thursday Feb 2023

Posted by sconzani in insects

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British woodlice, Common striped woodlouse, Philoscia muscorum, Porcellio spinicornis, woodlice, woodlouse

I’ve been leaf diving again, just ten minutes spent picking up and thoroughly examining soggy Sycamore leaves during one of my local walks.

230202 Porcellio spinicornis

So well camouflaged was it that I almost missed this little mini-beastie, which I initially thought was a Common striped woodlouse (Philoscia muscorum) but, on closer inspection of its antennae, I now think must be Porcellio spinicornis. According to the Naturespot website, the distinguishing characteristic is the number of flagellal segments at the tip of the antennae: Porcellio spinicornis has two, while Philoscia muscorum has three. If I’d known this at the time, I would’ve taken better close-ups but I’ve tried to illustrate the differences below.

230202 woodlouse antennae

Log diving

13 Wednesday Jan 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects

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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!

Under the log

29 Saturday Dec 2018

Posted by sconzani in fungi, insects, molluscs, nature, slugs, winter

≈ 2 Comments

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#7DaysofWildChristmas, brain fungi, Catinella olivacea, Cogan Wood, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, earthworms, Harvestman, orange slime, slugs, snails, turning over logs, woodlice

The weather was back to grey and drizzly again today so I donned my wet weather gear and headed to Cogan Wood to spend part of day 5 of my #7DaysofWildChristmas challenge turning over a few rotten logs and branches. And what did I find lurking there?

Woodlice; snails both long and rotund; earthworms; luscious balls of orange slime; tiny globular balls that looked like the eggs of something or other; pale little lumps of White or Crystal brain fungi; slugs brown and black; a stripey legged Harvestman; miniscule white mushrooms adorned with drops of water; a young centipede or millipede – I can never be quite sure which is which; dark little cup fungi, black with olive rims (Catinella olivacea) – very pleased with that find; and various other things, the photographs of which were either out of focus or too grainy due to the poor light conditions in the woodland. There’s nothing quite like getting wild and muddy – it was fun!

181229 under the log (11)