Lmst

The two most common #woodlice in Central Europe in deadwood in #Berlin: #Porcellio #scaber and #Oniscus #asellus, #detritusfeeders. Both originate from Western Europe and appear as neozoa e.g. in America. Their #ecologicalrequirements differ: O. asellus tolerates #drought better. P. Zidar et al. (2003) found in choicetests that O. asellus properly #detects #foodqualities, which might be of #hygienic applied interest.

Ref
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14677364/

#Photos:
© S F. Wirth

Oniscus asellus (here only specimens of that species visible) adjacent to Porcellio scaber in the same piece of non determined deadwood on a semi dry meadow in urban park Rehberge in Berlin. An undetermined mite species of genus Linopodes was found nearby in areas with yellow-orange fungus mycelia, seemingly of Coprinellus radians. September 2025, © Stefan F. Wirth

Oniscus asellus adjacent to Porcellio scaber (both visible) in the same piece of non determined deadwood on a semi dry meadow in urban park Rehberge in Berlin. An undetermined mite species of genus Linopodes was found nearby in areas with yellow-orange fungus mycelia, seemingly of Coprinellus radians. September 2025, © Stefan F. Wirth

Oniscus asellus adjacent to Porcellio scaber (here only specimens of that species visible) in the same piece of non determined deadwood on a semi dry meadow in urban park Rehberge in Berlin. An undetermined mite species of genus Linopodes was found nearby in areas with yellow-orange fungus mycelia, seemingly of Coprinellus radians. September 2025, © Stefan F. Wirth

The #woodlouse #Oniscus #asellus (Oniscidae) is originally distributed in Western #Europe, but today one of the most common isopods in #CentralEurope, occuring e g. in dead wood or #leaflitter and is neozoon in North America. D. T. Bilton (2008), names two morphologically/ecologically different #subspecies, O. asellus asellus and O. asellus #occidentalis.

Reference

D. T. Bilton (2008):
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-3642.1994.tb01478.x

Photos
O. asellus, #Berlin © S. F. Wirth 2020, edit 2025

It's #WoodlouseWednesday ! I am so, so exhausted this week so very quickly: some orange Oniscus asellus individuals from the colony I started with isopods found in my previous dwelling's garden years ago.

#isopod #oniscus #Woodlouse

Two Oniscus asellus isopods with orange colour, white skirts, yellow markings, and reduced black markings.

One Oniscus asellus with orange background, white skirt, yellow dorsal markings, and black markings mixed in.

Every so often I come across these beautiful orange morphs of Oniscus asellus, the common shiny woodlouse.

#inaturalist #woodlouse #rolypoly #isopod #oniscus #bug #arthropod #macrophotography #macro #wildlife #wildlifephotography

An orange-coloured woodlouse, close up, with a sand-like speckled carapace.

It's #WoodlouseWednesday ! I went to look for Oniscus asellus occidentalis in the wild in February and found these stunning guys. I'm trying to capture them on pictures with the new camera but still learning.

#isopod #isopods #oniscus