Common pill bug
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
Female common pillbugs carry eggs in a chamber under their bodies.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Common pill bug
- Scientific name
- Armadillidium vulgare
- Japanese name
- オカダンゴムシ
- Group
- Tiny animals
- Class
- Malacostraca
- Order
- Isopoda
- Family
- Armadillidiidae
- Genus
- Armadillidium
It is not an insect but a relative of shrimp and crabs. Its original home is around the Mediterranean.
When touched, it rolls up like a little dumpling to protect itself. Males are dark, while females have golden markings.
It eats and breaks down damp fallen leaves, helping to make soil. It may also eat petals and leaves in flower beds.
How the Common pill bug lives
They are usually more active at night. In dry conditions, they move faster as they search for damp places. They grow gradually as they molt repeatedly.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web三鷹市Basic data
- Size
- Total length: about 1 cm, up to about 1.5 cm三鷹市
- Lifespan
- up to 2 years in the wildUniversity of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
- Diet
- Soft, moist fallen leaves三鷹市
- Range
- The Mediterranean coastUniversity of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
Where the Common pill bug has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- オカダンゴムシ
- 简体中文
- 鼠妇
- 繁體中文
- 鼠婦
- 한국어
- 공벌레
- Español
- Bicho bola
- Français
- Cloporte vulgaire
- Deutsch
- Gemeine Rollassel
- Português (Brasil)
- Bicho-de-conta
- Italiano
- Porcellino di terra
- العربية
- درعام
- Türkçe
- Tespih böceği
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 三鷹市 — みたかいきもの図鑑 オカダンゴムシChecked: 2026-11-03
- University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web — Armadillidium vulgareChecked: 2026-11-03
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
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