Though pillbugs are the woodlouse breed I’m more familiar with, I’ve had extensive exposure with sowbugs: sleeker, flatter, more trilobite-ish isopods in the massive, sprawling, infinitely-lovable woodlouse family. As a child, I thought sowbugs were female woodlice and that the armored, rollie-pollies were males. I was both amazed and dismayed that my initial observations were incorrect. Ah, but knowing that I had two breeds of woodlouse sharing my pre-teenager’s bedroom was quite a nice feeling. Unlike pillbugs, sowbugs (recognized the world over) don’t roll into a neat little sphere when they’re threatened. They’re generally slightly more bumpy in appearance, and it’s not unusual to see them with ornate running boards on either side—rather like extravagant, alien, military vessels. They’re just as cute; just as efficient at the things woodlice are so efficient at…and they come in some of the most interesting colors around. If they’re diseased and about to die, they take on a nice, fuzzy shade of blue (due to bacterial infections.) If they’re healthy and of a more European origin, they’re probably yellowish, brownish, and even a wee bit pinkish. This little lady (yes, I checked) is of the breed I commonly fond in Chicago as a child. She wasn’t too pleased with having her lady-bits observed, but as she’d fallen on her back and hadn’t yet righted herself, I had ample opportunity to get nice and close and map the configuration of her gills and…well…um…her…lady parts. I didn’t get pictures of those, however, as I feel woodlice should never suffer the indignity of exposed undersides. I took this picture last summer, after a rain. The back yard at my apartment was full of woodlice and snails, woodlice and slugs, and even woodlice and earwigs. I tried capturing the earwigs (I love those critters too) but they’re real examples of Attention Deficit Disorder among insects. They are really bad at standing still, even as they’re being bribed with moisture. They feed on leaf debris and small mites and so it’s a bit difficult to bribe them with food. Woodlice are the same, but they find it impossible to resist a good leaf of lettuce or cabbage, or a nice, sliced carrot. Earwigs, on the other hand, just seem interested in running around and showing you the useless set of calipers sticking out of their back ends. (Yeah, those calipers are useless…they’re used as a bluff among dumber insects who think of such calipers as the mouth parts of dangerous, predatory critters. Humans are a bit afraid of them too…but I’ve raised earwigs, and I can tell you beyond any shadow of a doubt that those intimidating-looking “pliers” ain’t all that! Back to woodlice though…I photographed this little lady after putting her right-side up and thus hiding her female bits from plain sight. She seemed moderately grateful, though admittedly, more interested in leaving the scene and going about whatever business she had at hand. She posed for this picture, rather nicely, and a mysterious salad appeared in my back yard later that day. I always pay my models, and besides, I’m the only salad eater in the house. I had too much lettuce so why not give it to highly fashionable, slightly shy models? As always, thank you for viewing, and reading, and commenting, and I hope you’re all having a great week. It might still be a while before I’m commenting. I’m helping Corey with stuff and that takes a bit of time, but he’s healing nicely and so that’s a great thing. It’s funny, too, because I think woodlice are a part of his healing process….