Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Wildlife Wednesday - pillbug

Pillbugs are often found in gardens and damp places. This one was trundling across a car park!

Did you know pillbugs are not insects, but are crustaceans (related to crabs), and called isopods? They have a hard outer skeleton and jointed legs. They also have more than 3 pairs of legs (which is what insects have).

They are called pillbugs because their defense mechanism is to curl into a ball.

They aren't native to Australia but came out from Europe with the plants that were brought here by early settlers.

They feed on decaying organic matter.

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