‘Bumbling, mumbling’ tidiers of our world: the unexpected superpowers of the common woodlouse

This detritivore – known by a range of colourful names – feeds on rotting plant matter and can withstand toxic pollution Revealed: the top 10 invertebrates of the year Chucky pig. Slater. Monkey pea. Roly-poly. Boat-builder. Butchy boy. Cheeselog. Hobbling Andrew. Wood pig. If there were a prize for the range and joyfulness of a creature’s English-language names, the humble woodlouse would undoubtedly triumph over its million-plus invertebrate rivals. Over centuries of easy cohabitation with humans, it has acquired more than 300 regional names in Britain alone, and many more in other languages (such as Gwrach y Coed, “witch of the wood”, in Welsh). There are lovely words for woodlouse actions too: an animal rolling its body into a neat ball is known as conglobation, or volvation in zoology. Their nicknames reflect our fondness for this most accessible of isopoda, an order of crustaceans, which is found in houses and gardens across Europe and the US. The common rough woodlouse, Porcellio scaber, is more widespread and found in South America and Australia too but it does not curl up in a ball. Hopefully, woodlouse voters in all continents can set aside their love for their