We have had many, many of these little buggers, I assume because we’ve had so much rain. But there are probably other variables involved, too.
So, what is this leetle guy? Not a beetle!
I would call it a sowbug,* and not a pill bug, which also has this same general shape. I don’t think this one rolls up like a pill bug. But this may point up the problem with common names; what do I know? Googling a bit suggests both are isopods, members of the family that includes shrimp and crabs—and even these guys have gills and need water to “breathe.”
Of all things.
* But those who are not entomologically impaired seem to refer to all of them as woodlice.
7 May 2009 at 11:41 pm
Rana says:
For me, sowbugs are slightly flatter versions of pillbugs, which can curl up into a nice round “pill.” Sowbugs don’t curl quite as well.