22 George A. Schultz 



Interestingly, it was not recorded in coastal Georgia (Schultz 1975, 

 1977) where it was diligently sought. It lives in a wide range of habitats 

 from very dry (but not as dry as some of those of A. vulgare) to very 

 moist (but not as moist as some of those of Ligidium), and has been 

 collected in dense, moist leaf litter with Miktoniscus halophilus. It can 

 be found under loose tree bark and in dense leaf litter, especially near 

 houses and outbuildings. During prolonged rainy weather the species 

 frequently is seen on the sides of buildings where it has moved to avoid 

 the very wet conditions in the soil at the foundation. It is distinguished 

 from A. vulgare, also a "pill bug," by the "shelf on the front of the 

 head between the eyes (Fig. 30). Large individuals get to be 12 mm long. 

 The species is gray and white, and mature males are much darker than 

 females. They never are shiny black like males of A vulgare. 



Armadillidium vulgare (Latreille) 

 Fig. 31 

 Armadillidium vulgare (Latreille). Van Name 1936:276, figs. 157-159. 

 Brimley 1938:503. Schultz 1961:194; 1962:47; 1964:194; 1965b:139. 



This species is common in eastern United States and is very com- 

 mon in North Carolina (Map 12). It inhabits the driest habitats of all 

 species in the state and is found in a very wide range of dry-moist habi- 

 tats. It is very abundant around the foundations of buildings, in dense 

 leaf litter, and under boards and rocks, but rarely occurs far from 

 human habitations. The species has been recorded on "floating sea- 

 weed" on the coast of South Carolina (Kelley 1978), but that reference 

 is probably to a species of Tylos, a genus of isopods from almost com- 

 pletely marine habitats which also rolls into a ball and in many ways 

 superficially resembles large females of A. vulgare (Van Name 1936:408). 

 It can be distinguished from another "pill bug,'M. nasatum, by the lack 

 of a "shelf on the frontal margin of the head (Cf. Figs. 30, 31). Adult 

 males are ebony black with small yellow blotches. Females and juvenile 

 males are variegated yellow-brown. In the Durham region the species 

 breeds from the end of May until late July. It grows to 14 mm long. 



DISCUSSION 

 The oniscoids of North Carolina can be divided into several groups 

 according to habitat preference. The first group contains three species 

 that live exclusively at or very near the sea and never are found far from 

 a marine shore. They are Ligia exotica, Armadilloniscus ellipticus and 

 Philoscia vittata. Ligia exotica spends much time in sea water and 

 frequently retreats there when disturbed. The habitats of Armadillonis- 

 cus ellipticus and P. vittata are on salt or brackish water shores and 

 occasionally habitats and inhabitants might be covered with salt water. 

 The two species are present up to the point of furthest penetration of 



