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Armadillidiidae is a family of woodlice, a terrestrial crustacean group in the order Isopoda. Unlike members of some other woodlice families, members of this family can roll into a ball, an ability they share with the outwardly similar but unrelated and other animals. This ability gives woodlice in this family their common names of pill bugs (2025). 9781845935429, CAB International. ISBN 9781845935429 or roly polies
/ref> Other common names include slaters, potato bugs, curly bugs, butchy boys, and doodle bugs. Most species are native to the Mediterranean Basin, while a few species have wider European distributions. The best-known species, Armadillidium vulgare, was introduced to New England in the early 19th century and has become widespread throughout North America.
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| US, Dialect survey, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. C. 2005. Accessed March 27, 2024. Canada, Australia |
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| IsraelPinhas Amitai, " Guide in Color to (70 Israeli) Animals", Keter Publishing 1998. Hebrew details: מדריך בצבעים לבעלי-חיים: מדריך לילדים, ירושלים: כתר, 1998. "Cadoor" (כדור) is ball in Hebrew. |
The diet of pill bugs is largely made up of decaying or decomposed plant matter such as leaves, and to a lesser extent, wood fibers. Pill bugs will also eat living plants, especially in wet conditions, sometimes consuming leaves, stems, shoots, roots, tubers, and fruits. Some species of pill bugs are known to eat decaying animal flesh or feces. They will also eat shed snakeskin and dead bugs, if necessary. This diet has a secondary effect of decelerating the breakdown of litter, aiding in the retention of organic material in the soil. This helps in balancing the carbon content in the soil. Pill bugs also contribute to their ecosystem as .
However, pill bugs can be serious pests in certain agricultural systems, particularly in areas that are prone to heavy rains and flood conditions. Since they are attracted to decaying plant matter, they are often found on farms eating the crop residue. This leads pill bugs to start eating emerging seedlings. This has started to pose agricultural problems in Southern Australia. Farmers in the United States and in Argentina have also reported increased rates of pill bugs destroying seed oil and soybean crops. They have also been observed eating wood supports in houses making them a house pest. Pill bugs will feed on numerous crop plants including corn, beans, squash, peas, melon, chard, beet, cucumber, potato, spinach, lettuce, and strawberry, with potential for significant yield loss in strawberry in particular.
Within the family Armadillidiidae, 18 genera are currently recognized:
A 2022 study of myrmecophily populations indicated that these represented a new species of Cristarmadillidium, and three new species within a new genus, Iberiarmadillidium.
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