Wooudlouse

The woodlouse has a shell-like exoskeleton, which it must progressively shed as it grows. The moult takes place in two stages; the back half is lost first, followed two or three days later by the front. This method of moulting is different from that of most arthropods, which shed their cuticle in a single process.

A female woodlouse will keep fertilised eggs in a marsupium on the underside of her body until they hatch into small, white offspring. The mother then appears to “give birth” to her offspring.

Woodlice often cause worry to gardeners and whilst they will nibble at young vegetation, they generally prefer that their food has already started to decay. That’s why they’re found in rotting wood and piles of old leaves.