Woodlouse name trail
WildID Woodlouse name trail is a straightforward identification guide to common woodlice.
- Identification guide to 9 commonest woodlouse species in Britain and Ireland
- Photo gallery will help you identify living woodlice in the field
- Practical for use outdoors: lightweight, rucksack-sized, splash-proof
This guide introduces you to the woodlice you’re most likely to spot in gardens and around buildings. The best places to search are under logs, bricks and stones, or among piles of leaf litter. But not all woodlice stick to damp spots! In south-west England, all three pill woodlice species featured here can often be seen crawling over sunny, exposed stones. With a bit of practice, you can learn to identify all nine species in this guide with the naked eye. And don’t worry, they don’t bite or sting!
To make things easy, we have included simple yes/no questions to help you quickly match what you find to the colour photographs. Accompanying text on the reverse side covers the features of each woodlouse. This includes body length, colour and distribution in Britain and Ireland.
Woodlice sometimes get an unfair reputation as pests, but they’re rarely more than a minor nuisance. In fact, they play a vital part in the garden by munching through dead leaves and speeding up decomposition, returning important nutrients to the soil to help plants grow. They’re also ideal for classroom study: easy to keep on a diet of leaf litter and shredded carrot, and great for showing how moisture-loving creatures react to changes in light and humidity.
