I agree 100%. Only the pillbugs though–those sowbugs (the ones that can’t roll up) are just a cheap imitation. I don’t know if those guys are the same genus or not.
All Armadillium can curl up (though some leave a gap open when they do), I believe, but there are many, many species of more distant isopod relatives that cannot.
As a kid/child, I used to collect and keep them as pets! I even kept them in classes in schools until they told me to stop keeping them in my desks. Haha. Then, I got addicted to ants!
Armadillidium may be my new favorite genus name.
Stunning photos! But what are the light-colored cluster-like tissues visible beneath the cuticle?
I always see these guys co-occurring with ants under logs/rocks. Do ants eat pill bugs? I’ve not seen it!
They do when you crush them.
I agree 100%. Only the pillbugs though–those sowbugs (the ones that can’t roll up) are just a cheap imitation. I don’t know if those guys are the same genus or not.
All Armadillium can curl up (though some leave a gap open when they do), I believe, but there are many, many species of more distant isopod relatives that cannot.
The cutest?! I’d pick fairy shrimp and most amphipods over any isopod. I mean look at this little guy:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Talitrus_saltator_2c.jpg
Awww!
As a kid/child, I used to collect and keep them as pets! I even kept them in classes in schools until they told me to stop keeping them in my desks. Haha. Then, I got addicted to ants!