Breeding season is now in full swing as the temperatures start to rise and the days lengthen. We're going to focus in on the breeding habits of one the most common but overlooked creatures in our gardens - the woodlouse! There are around 30-40 species of woodlouse in the UK, but the ones you're most likely to find in your gardens are the Common Woodlouse, the Common Rough Woodlouse and the Pill Woodlouse. Woodlice have smooth, shiny, grey 'armour' (an exoskeleton made up of segments or 'plates') and fourteen legs. They are in fact terrestrial crustaceans, meaning they are more closely related to crabs and shrimps than to the insects in our gardens.
Common Woodlouse Oniscus asellus, two adults foraging in a garden
Nick Upton (rspb-images.com)
Woodlice have a pair of antennae to help them find their way around, and two small ‘tubes’, called uropods, sticking out the back of their bodies. The uropods help them navigate and some species use them to produce chemicals to discourage predators. The main predators of the woodlice in our gardens are centipedes, toads, shrews and spiders.
Woodlice mate at this time of year, with the females carrying their fertilised eggs in a small brood pouch under their bodies. The young hatch inside the pouch and stay there for a few days until they are big enough to survive on their own. These young woodlice, known as mancas, look like a smaller, paler version of the adults. They shed their outer shells on a number of occasions as they grow bigger. They become adults by late summer and overwinter before reproducing in their second year. Woodlice can live for up to four years.
Woodlice feed largely on damp, decomposing plant material and are therefore part of the biodiversity that helps nutrient recycling in the garden. We can encourage woodlice in our gardens by leaving logs or rocks for them to hide under.
Back at Flatford Wildlife Garden, it's a great time of year to look for newts now that they've emerged from hibernation and are turning to breeding. Both Smooth Newts and Great Crested Newts can be seen in the garden's pond, which is full of life at this exciting time of year. The garden is now open every day from 10:30-4:30.