Appearance

Appearance

Adults are usually dark gray or brown with a hard, segmented shell, seven pairs of legs, and a rounded back. They can reach about 0.7 in (18 mm) long.

Look-alikes

Where it lives

Typical habitats

• leaf litter
• under rocks and logs
• mulched gardens

Range

Native to Europe, this species is established in many parts of the United States, including California. It also lives in gardens and leaf litter in Los Angeles.

Preferred conditions

It needs cool, damp shelter and is usually hidden under ground debris or low plants.

Behavior

Diet

It mainly eats decaying plant matter, though groups of pillbugs may sometimes nibble tender plants touching damp soil.

Activity

When threatened, it tucks in its legs and antennae and rolls into a tight ball.

Life cycle

Reproduction

The female carries eggs and newly hatched young in a pouch beneath her body. The young are pale and about 0.08 in (2 mm) long when they leave the pouch.

Connected species

Parasites

• Plagiorhynchus cylindraceus

  Its young stage develops inside the pill bug, then reaches a European Starling when the bird eats the infected pill bug.

Conservation

IUCN Red List

NENot Evaluated·Not yet assessed