Pill Bug Anatomy

These next 6 body segments are referred to as the pill bugs abdomen and consist of even smaller body. They have three sections to their body.

Sow Bugs And Pill Bugs

Pillbugs have seven pairs of legs one pair for each segment of the thorax.

Pill bug anatomy. Pillbugs are considered primitive creatures but they have an important role in the soil ecosystem. The common pillbug is a harmless and delightful way to introduce children to the world of insects and though it goes by many different names insect isnt one of them. Armadillidium vulgare may reach a length of 18 millimetres 071 in and is capable of rolling into a ball when disturbed.

This ability along with its general appearance gives it the name pill bug and also creates the potential for confusion with pill millipedes such as glomeris marginata. Seven of the main body segments that comprise the pill bugs thorax each have one pair of walking or locomotion legs that are used primarily for mobility. The circulatory system as in other arthropods the blood flows in sinuses or channels without definite walls.

The head the middle thorax pereon and the end abdomen pleon. Pill bugs are covered by a hard exoskeleton also called the cuticle made from chitin. Common pillbugs are oval shaped and somewhat flattened.

In the middle pereon they have seven overlapping plates. They are an abundant food source for insects and arachnids. Pillbugs reproduce during the months of may through september.

The pill bug goes by many namesroly poly woodlouse armadillo bug potato bug but whatever you call it its a fascinating creatureor actually 4000 species of creature. Around human habitation pillbugs can seek refuge from the winter cold in deep crevices at the edges of buildings in rubble piles and compost heaps. Most sow bugs and pill bugs have in addition trachea like infoldings in some of the exopodites.

Artificial heating and the high thermal inertia of buildings also elevates backyard temperatures in the proximity of buildings. On their head they have eyes and antennae. The nocturnal crustaceans have seven pairs of legs segmented sections like a lobsters tail and prefer humid environments.

They have three basic body parts the head which is fused to the first segment of the thorax the thorax the 7 segments of the thorax that are not fused to the head are called the pereon and the abdomen which is also called the pleon. The pill bug has a total of 13 other sections called body segments. The body of armadillidium vulgare is made up of a thorax known as the pereon with seven segments and an abdomen the pleon with uropods appendages arising from the last segment of the abdomen.

Pill Bugs Homegrown Adventures