The terrestrial Isopoda or ‘woodlice’ are very well recognised animals to most people. But while many may think that, ‘a woodlouse is a woodlouse’ and are all very similar, there are actually over 60 species that have been recorded in Britain ranging in size from 30mm to just 2mm. They are also not all grey and boring; there are beautiful pink and green and yellow and orange varieties to be discovered. They provide an important decomposer element to ecosystems and can be found in most places throughout the year. New discoveries are being found all the time, so recording woodlice is an important and fascinating activity for anyone with an interest in the natural world.

This introduction will span two webinars: This is the first which will look at the general life histories and ecology of woodlice and also how they are popularly perceived in our culture.

The second will focus more on identification of the common and more distinctive species (Book part 2 here).

These webinars will be based on the British Myriapod & Isopod Group digital guide. The content will be ideal for a beginner and you do not need to have attended the previous webinars on millipedes or centipedes to participate.

Tutor information: Paul Richards has most recently worked as Ecological Monitoring Officer for Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust and has undertaken research in urban biodiversity and bird reproduction at the University of Sheffield. He was previously Senior Curator of Natural History at Museums Sheffield. Paul has nearly 40 years experience as a professional zoologist, curator and ecologist specialising in ground invertebrates. He is Sorby Natural History Society recorder for Millipedes, Centipedes, Woodlice, Harvestmen, and Pseudoscorpions and author of the BMIG guide mentioned above as well as the FSC guide to British Harvestmen and a new atlas of Dragonflies of the Sheffield area. He is an active contributor to a number of Facebook invertebrate groups and is a passionate advocate of biological recording.

For each webinar there will be an extensively illustrated talk from Paul, followed by an opportunity to ask questions.

Please book your space via Eventbrite and you will be sent information on how to join the webinar.

This session will run on Zoom. If you are new to Zoom you will need to create a Zoom account and download their software. This is all free and you can do so here. You can use a laptop/desktop computer, smartphone or tablet and it isn’t necessary to have a webcam or microphone to participate.

Further info on how to join a zoom meeting can be found here.