Episode 141 – Woodlouse: The Pill Bug is No Bug

“…and today we’re talking about a bug of very many names. But more on that right now.”

You might think that gills are just for ocean dwellers, and you’d be wrong. For the terrestrial woodlouse or roly-poly, using gills is as easy as breathing. But how and why does it have gills? It’s all a part of its unique classification as a crustacean rather than an insect–and it involves staying as damp as possible. But keeping it moist is how this isopod of many names survives here in LDT.