Water creatures on land

Woodlice look strange. They look like small, armoured tanks, plodding along on their 14 thin legs. But what kind of animals are they actually? They look a bit like beetles but have way too many legs. Do you have any good suggestions? Woodlice are crustaceans. They are related to animals like shrimps, krill and crabs, but they are on land and that makes things difficult. Aquatic animals breathe through gills, and this works best if they are wet. That’s why you always find woodlice under the bark of fallen trees, under large stones on the ground, or amongst some dead leaves, out in the back shed, or along the walls of the holiday cabin. These are places where it isn’t so warm and dry. Woodlice feed on old, rotten wood – this is probably where they got their name from -  old, mushy garden furniture is a real treat for a woodlouse.

There are many different kinds of woodlice in Denmark, and they are difficult to tell apart. Try and find a sick woodlouse, this maybe sounds strange, but sick woodlice go blue or purple!