
Volunteer Airfix crew
The first woodlice were marine isopods which are presumed to have colonised land in the Carboniferous. They have many common names and although often referred to as "terrestrial Isopods" some species live semiterrestrially or have recolonised aquatic environments. Woodlice in the families Armadillidae, Armadillidiidae, Eubelidae, Tylidae and some other genera can roll up into a roughly spherical shape as a defensive mechanism; others have partial rolling ability but most cannot conglobate at all.
Woodlice are widely studied in the contexts of evolutionary biology, behavioural ecology and nutrient cycling. They are popular as terrarium pets because of their varied colour and texture forms, conglobating ability and ease of care.
Common names include:
"armadillo bug"
"billy baker" (South Somerset)
Billy Button (Dorset)
"boat-builder" (Newfoundland, Canada)
"butcher boy" or "butchy boy" (Australia, mostly around Melbourne)
"carpenter" or "cafner" (Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada)
"carpet shrimp" (Ryedale)
"cheeselog" (Reading area)
"cheesy bobs" Hampshire
"cheesy bug" (North West Kent )
"cheesey wig"
"chiggy pig" South West Britain-
"chucky pig"
"chuggy peg"
"crawley baker"
"daddy grampher"
"damp beetle" (North East England)
"dandy postman" (Essex and East London)
"doodlebug"
"gramersow" (Cornwall)
"granny grey" (South Wales)
"hog-louse"
"horton bug" (Deal, Kent, u.k.)
"humidity bug" (Ontario, Canada)
"monkey-peas" (Kent )
"monk's louse" (transl. "munkelus", Norway)
"parson's pig" (Isle of Man, Mannin)
"pea bug" or "peasie-bug" (Kent )
"piggy wig"
"pill bug" (usually applied only to the genus Armadillidium)
"potato bug"
"roll up bug
"roly-poly"
"rosary bug" (Turkey)
"slater" (Scotland, Ulster, New Zealand and Australia)
"sow bug" (Cornwall)
"wood bug" (British Columbia, Canada)
"wood-louse"