Small and nimble woodlice is quite difficult to find in a human dwelling.
However, if this meeting does happen - in damp, abandoned places, in dark rooms that have not been entered for a long time - it can be difficult to call happy.
Let these creatures not cause any harm to humans, they do not look very attractive.
Definition
Common woodlouse (lat. Porcellio scaber) is one of the types of woodlice sub-order, which is sometimes also called gall-grill or gully. These are small (body length rarely exceeds 16-18 mm), animals almost imperceptible in natural conditions. Most often, their color is gray, however, there are dark, almost black, brown, yellowish and even pinkish specimens.
Each individual passes through periods of molting as it matures., gradually developing, strengthening its chitinous cover-exoskeleton and increasing in size. In finally formed woodlice 7 pairs of legs. As a rule, the life span is from 8-9 months to one year.
One of the most recognizable features of this creature is the shell divided into numerous segments. In case of danger, woodlice of this species do not try to escape as quickly as possible, but coagulate, reliably protecting soft parts of the body.
Another function of the shell is to withstand adverse environmental conditions: if it becomes too dry or hot, its segments “tighten” to each other - and the woodlouse's body literally decreases in size in order to preserve as much life-giving moisture as possible.
Reference! Common woodlice are found around the globe: they live in Central and Eastern Europe, including in our country, in North America, in South Africa, in the United Kingdom, and even in Australia.
Lifestyle
These creatures are terrestrial, but not every land area is suitable for them: woodlice are able to exist only in places with high humidity, whether it is soil with a significant amount of moisture from the soil or just a room with very humid air.
Most active in the dark.
Which unit, class and type applies?
Licks are:
- order of isopods or isopods (lat. Isopoda);
- the class of higher crayfish (lat. Malacostraca), which, along with woodlice, includes, for example, crabs, shrimps and scuds;
- arthropod type (lat. Arthropoda).
Classification errors
Is a mokritz an insect or not? Due to the fact that wood lice look similar to small beetles with long antennae, sometimes people mistakenly rank them as a large class of insects, but in reality these animals are representatives of the crustacean subtype, leading the land-based life style. . Add that Woodlouse - arthropod, as it relates directly to this typeas well as a representative of the animal kingdom.
In reality, these creatures, rather, occupy the position preceding the decomposers in the biotic circulation and belong to the detritophages - animals that feed on decaying organic substances (detritus). In the process of feeding and excretion, the detritus "prepares" food for further consumption by other organisms, making these substances more accessible to decomposers.
Are people dangerous?
Due to the nature of the food woodlice most often live far from cities: in the forest under the deadwood and moss, off the coast of the reservoirs. The greatest chance to meet with these creatures a person can get, to get to the cottage, in the garden or in the park. Usually they are kept under stones, old logs, in the shade of bushes - so even in the natural environment it is difficult to face them if such a meeting is not in itself a goal.
However, occasionally woodlice appear in human housing, but only in places with high humidity:
- in the basements;
- in attics;
- in apartments - in the bathroom, toilet or in the kitchen, next to the sink and pipes.
Despite the fact that these tiny crustaceans look quite repulsive, and even frightening to someone, they do not pose any danger to humans. They don't bite like bedbugs- the jaws of the wood lice are simply not adapted for this purpose, they do not spoil the products and are not carriers of dangerous bacteria like cockroaches. The only thing that these creatures, like other animals living in the soil, are hypothetically capable of doing harm is the root system of plants in the summer cottage.
However, even such a harmless neighbor is unlikely to become a welcome guest in the house, if only for aesthetic reasons. Fortunately, you can get rid of them quite easily - to reduce the level of humidity in the room. In addition to this, you can use salt or sticky traps, but if you do not get rid of the main reason - high humidity - wood lice will surely appear again.
