Armadillidium Vulgare Essay

Isopods are interesting creatures that have been decided to experiment upon as the test subjects. However, the term isopods, generally refers to the order Isopda but to be more specific pill bugs are a subcaterogy. Therefore, the classification for them are the family Armadillidiidae, which means that they have the ability to conglobate/curl into a ball, acting as a defense mechanism for them if and when they are in danger. Additionally, the best known and most investigated is Armadillidium vulgare, also known as the common pill bug. The experiment is being conducted to see whether they prefer to be in a wet or dry environment, in other words, their response to moisture. They seem to be able to sense the environment by expressing the effects that on how the stimuli …show more content…
Then, there is the fact that they can produce a chemical, a pheromone, which has several different uses, such as, letting others acknowledge their presence, which includes competitors and mates, and indicates if the environment is worthwhile, a suitable habitat. In this experiment, they are all the same species as they all exhibit the ability as mentioned above. Additionally, they seem to have a pair of eyes and seven sets of legs, along with a pair of antennæ. Also, by examining the length of their antennæ, males tend to have longer ones than females, and females, notably and potentially show their eggs on the underside or backside of their exoskeleton. Then, it is shown that the larger pill bugs are more apt to be cannibalistic than normal ones as they are able to do so, eat and prey on others. However, this is not a significant issue as the larger they seem to be, it correlates with their age being older, so, they are not at the top of the food chain for an extensive amount of time. Additionally, they have gills in order for them to be able to breathe/respire. Therefore, there has to an adequate amount of water for them to