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What is a wood louse and what does the insect look like in the photo?

Lackes play an important role in natural and anthropogenic biocenoses. These living organisms are crustaceans, although outwardly they have no resemblance to the cancer or crab that is familiar to humans.

Usually they appear in rooms with excessive moisture. Lackes are a suborder of isopod crustaceans, which are found not only in conditions of wild nature, but also in apartments.

In the article we will tell what (or who) it is, what are the types of insects that can appear in your home, and also show the photo.

Crustacean species

Reference! There are more than 3,500 species of wood lice on the planet, most of which live in water and only about 250 species of crustaceans have been able to evolve and adapt to life on land, however, they need a large amount of moisture for a normal life.

therefore only the most unpretentious types take root in premisesbecause this is not the best habitat for them. Consider what types of woodlice most often found in apartments.

A photo

Below you can see a close-up photo of the woodlouse, in which you can see what an insect looks like, which is found in an apartment and other residential premises.

Common arthritis

It occurs primarily in wet basements, storage rooms.

Rough

Preferred residential and wet rooms. It is very fast, therefore it is capable of covering long distances in a short period of time, often moving from the basement to the apartment. She likes to live in the bathroom, especially in the corners where the mold appears, this is her favorite delicacy. Periodically, it drops the upper, then lower shell, which is interesting, it is also a forage for wood lice.

White

It has a small size (about 6 mm). Prefers to settle in the bathroom, in dark corners.

Body size

The body is convex, the size varies from 1 mm in length to 10 cmcovered with hard chitinous bristles that protect against numerous predators.

Description

Considering the appearance of wood lice, we can distinguish the following characteristic features for them:

  • On the back of some species of crustaceans there are ornate patterns.
  • The head is clearly expressed, passing into the chest, on which there are two antennas and eyes.
  • How many legs do you have an insect? The legs are well adapted for walking - seven pairs (the last pair of limbs of the abdomen performs a tactile, supporting or protective function or serves to suck water).
  • At the end of the body there are tactile organs, similar to two small tails of the appendage.
  • The respiratory organs resemble the gills, allowing them to survive in difficult conditions.
Attention! The smallest representatives of this species are originally twelve legs, and not fourteen.

What are the?

To date, separated wood lice, depending on their size.

Little ones

They live mainly in living quarters and in damp places. Eat vegetable waste, mold, moss. Small bifurcated tubules on the last pair of limbs absorb moisture. Due to the presence of pores in the shell, the excretions leave the body as ammonia vapor, and not in the form of liquid urine.

Body color depends on the environment, so they can be blue, yellow, pink. Sizes of small woodlice from 1 mm to 1 centimeter.

Large

The appearance of large wood lice is identical to small ones, but sizes can reach 4 centimeters. An example of such woodlice is lingual.

Gigantic

There are nine types of woodlice giants, some of them are larger than the male palm.and the largest "sea cockroach" - up to ten centimeters. In addition, a huge individual, like ordinary crayfish, does not live on land, but in the depths of the water, referring to the deep-sea inhabitants. What do they look like? Outwardly, they are the same as the usual woodlice, only much larger.

Who can be confused?

Among the insects that resemble woodlice in appearance, the following are distinguished:

  1. Kivsyak Crimean - a centipedewhich lives in the south of Russia, usually disguises itself as wood lice and lives in cellars.
  2. SilverfishIt is often confused with woodlice. These insects have an extended body that tapers from head to tail. Behind you can see three tails, similar to the thin hairs. Peering closely, it is easy to catch the similarity with the fry of fish.

    Scarabs are nocturnal, they feed on organic matter: mold, wet paper, food waste, synthetic fiber, and even in times of hunger do not disdain their dead brothers. They reproduce very slowly, unlike woodlice.

Attention! Woodfishes recycle all sorts of waste like earthworms, benefiting the environment. They are also food for lizards, spiders, and toads.

Occasionally, at home, colonies of wood lice are specially grown, and then used as feed for exotic animals.

According to all known facts about wood lice, it can be concluded that they are not carriers of infections, do not spoil furniture, do not eat food, are completely safe, do not bite a person, but rather try to stay as far as possible.Of course, living in an apartment, they do not cause sympathy. But before you start the fight, you should think about what is the use and harm of them. Perhaps you should eliminate the cause of their occurrence, rather than try to destroy the absolutely harmless wood lice.

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