The Woodlouse

The woodlouse is actually not a bug or an insect but a crustacean from the same family as the crab and lobster. It’s just much smaller. The one thing it has in common with all its crusty brothers is an exoskeleton – the woodlouse is covered in overlapping armoured platelets that form a protective shell across its body. These platelets are so flexible the woodlouse can curl up into a ball when in danger, creating the ultimate protection against predators. These images are of the uk variety of woodlouse, their adult length is about 12 millimetres.