Ye Pill Bug: An Isopod wo seco oat ecmnccrigeon The pill bug (also called the wood louse and the roly-poly bug) is a small, segmented land creature that can roll into a tiny ball for protection, The pill bug is NOT an insect, but is an isopod (another type of arthropod). Habitat and Distribution: Pill bugs are common invertebrates that are found in many biomes around the world, including temperate forests, rainforests, and grasslands. They prefer moist areas, often living in soil and under decaying leaves, rocks, and dead logs, Life Cycle: A pill bug begins its life as a tiny egg. The young pill bug looks almost like a miniature adult. As it grows, it molts (sheds its old, outgrown exoskeleton) 4 to 5 times, Anatomy: Pill bugs are covered by a hard exoskeleton (also called the cuticle) made from chitin, They have three basic body parts, the head (which is fused to the first segment of the thorax), the thorax (the 7 segments of the thorax that are not fused to the head are called the pereon), and the abdomen (which is also called the pleon). Pill bugs have 7 pairs of jointed legs and 2 pairs of antennae (but one pair is barely visible). The antennae, mouth and eyes are located on the head. A pair of abdominal uropods are at the posterior end of the pill bug, but only the terminal exopods are visible from the top of the pill bug. Pill bugs are less than an inch long. Diet: Pill bugs eat decaying plants and animals and some living plants. Predators: Pill bugs are eaten by many animals. Their main protection is rolling into an armored ball. Classification: Kingdom Animalia (animals), Phylum Arthropoda, Subphylum Crustacea, Class Malacostraca, Order Isopoda (isopods), Family Armadillidiidae, Genus Armadillidium, Oniscus, etc. Many species, including 4. vulgare (the common pillbug).Objectives ' © Observe various aspects of a terrestrial isopod © Conduct experiments examining the responses of isopods (also called pillbugs or roly-polys) ey © Design and conduct an investigation of animal behavior The Roly-Poly Lab Isopod Handling Isopods can be placed in a plastic container, such as clean margarine container, with holes poked in the lid to allow for air exchange. The bottom should be covered with soil or sand and kept moist (no swimming pools!). You can include leaf litter jf you would like to Background ‘Terrestrial isopods are land dwelling crustaceans, commonly known as pillbugs or roly- polys. They are related to lobsters, crabs, and shrimp. Terrestrial isopods breathe with gills. Their surface must remain moist to allow for gas exchange. Ethology is the study of animal behavior. Many behaviors involve movement of the animal within its environment. In this exercise, you will investigate some innate (instinctive) behaviors of isopods. Part 1: Isopod Observations 1, Observe the pillbugs and record what you see, Answer the questions located on the Data Sheet. 2. Create a scientific sketch of a pillbug. When you make a sketch, do not just draw an oval with squiggly legs. You are expected to do a scientific illustration similar to the sketch of an earthworm below. esis _ a am eae aoe lor Here are some tips for making an accurate sketch. Make sure you record your sketch on the Data Sheet. © Determine the relative proportions (length, width, height, as well as lengths of body parts) Count thé number of body segments Count the number of legs Locate and label the body parts Note the size of the pillbugPart 2: The Behavior Chamber For the experiments you design, you will need to create a chamber to test the isopods reactions, Each basic chamber will consist of two sides, each side having a different environment, with a “doorway” that allows the isopods to move from one side to the other. The design of your chamber is up to you and you will need to provide any materials necessary to perform your experiment. sicher i Experiment One: Orientation of Isopods in Response to Moisture Procedure 1. Set up your behavior chamber so that you have one side moist and one side dry (using paper towels or filter paper). Transfer 5 isopods to each side of the chamber (total of 10). Replace the lid of the petri dish so that no bug crawls out of the chamber. 2. Count and record the number of animals on each side of the chamber every 30 seconds for 10 minutes. Use the Data Sheet to record your results, 3. Use the graph paper provided to graph your data, 4, Answer the analysis questions located on the Data Sheet. Experiment Two: Student Designed Experiment Select one of the following factors to investigate: ‘Temperature ~ cold pack, warm pack Light — lamps, flashlights, dark construction paper, aluminum foil Odor ~ ammonia, perfume Surface — soil, sand, sandpaper, bark, paper, mulch, gravel Food ~ apple, potato, fish food, lunchmeat Other organisms — crickets, earthworms Begin with a hypothesis, often written as an [Then statement, Record your hypothesis on the Data Sheet. : Poor: 1 think pillbugs will move toward the wet side of a choice chamber. Better: If pillbugs prefer a moist environment, then when they are randomly placed on both sides of a wet/dry choice chamber and allowed to move freely for 10 minutes, most will migrate to the wet side of the chamber. Use the procedure from Experiment One as a guideline to design your experiment, and collect your data in a table similar to the one already used. Graph your data on the graph paper provided and answer the questions, Clean up your lab benches and release the bugs back into the environment.