CreatureData

Pillbug

Armadillidium vulgare (Latreille, 1804)

Status not recordedcrustaceans

The pillbug (Armadillidium vulgare) is a crustacean in the family Armadillidiidae, part of the order Isopoda. It is classified in the suborder Oniscidea, the class Malacostraca and the phylum Arthropoda, within the kingdom Animalia.

Pillbug (Armadillidium vulgare)
Photo: Franco Folini · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the pillbug

Other English names for the pillbug include Slater, Sow bug, Roly-poly, Doodle bug and Potato bug. Its scientific name carries the authority (Latreille, 1804), and the Catalogue of Life lists it as a living, not extinct, species.

Weight
Not recorded
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Reproduction
Eggssrc for Reproduction
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
Not recorded

Photos of the pillbug

Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.

Pillbug (Armadillidium vulgare)
Rachel · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Pillbug (Armadillidium vulgare)
Daniel Das · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Pillbug (Armadillidium vulgare)
beetle_mch · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Pillbug (Armadillidium vulgare)
beetle_mch · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Pillbug (Armadillidium vulgare)
Alexis · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Pillbug (Armadillidium vulgare)
Alexis · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Pillbug (Armadillidium vulgare)
Jared Shorma · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Where does the pillbug live?

Not recorded

Where has it been introduced?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the pillbug as introduced in 5 countries, and flagged as invasive in 1 of them.

  1. Canary Islandsinvasive
  2. Japan
  3. South Africa
  4. Spain
  5. United States

Introduced means brought by people and now present; invasive means the country's checklist records an impact. A species can be native to one part of a country and introduced in another. Source: Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (CC BY 4.0).

What is the pillbug?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

Armadillidium vulgare, the common pill-bug, common pill woodlouse, roly-poly, potato bug, slater, doodle bug, or carpenter is a widespread European species of woodlouse and the most extensively investigated terrestrial isopod species. It is native to Mediterranean Europe, but has been an introduced species and naturalized in almost all suitable ecosystems. Many of their behaviors are driven by the prevention of desiccation, or drying out, which is why they are commonly found in high humidity, moderate temperature areas. Within ecosystems, they feed primarily on plant litter, which is essential for nitrogen cycling, and serve as prey for spiders, centipedes, and other small organisms.

They are kept as pets by hobbyists for their wide range of possible color variations.

From the Wikipedia article “Armadillidium vulgare” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Armadillidium_vulgare&oldid=1378914363), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the pillbug endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the pillbug classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumArthropoda
  3. classMalacostraca
  4. orderIsopoda
  5. familyArmadillidiidae
  6. genusArmadillidium
  7. SpeciesArmadillidium vulgare (Latreille, 1804)

Synonyms Armadillidium affine, Armadillidium armeniensis, Armadillidium brevicaudatum, Armadillidium cinereum, Armadillidium commutatum, Armadillidium decipiens, Armadillidium gallicum, Armadillidium nitidulus, Armadillidium oliveti, Armadillidium pilulare, Armadillidium schellenbergi, Armadillidium sorattinum, Armadillidium subdentatum, Armadillidium triviale, Armadillidium variegatum, Armadillidium vulgare rufobrunneus, Armadillidium vulgare var. rubra, Armadillidium vulgare var. rufobrunneus, Armadillo ater, Armadillo convexus, Armadillo marmoreus, Armadillo pilularis, Armadillo pustulatus, Armadillo trivialis, Armadillo variegatus, Armadillo vulgaris, Oniscus cinereus

Other names and names in other languages (58)
  • Common pill woodlouseEnglish
  • Common pill woodlouseEnglish
  • Common pill-bugEnglish
  • Common pillbugEnglish
  • Common woodlouseEnglish
  • Doodle bugEnglish
  • Pill woodlouseEnglish
  • Pill woodlouseEnglish
  • Potato bugEnglish
  • Roly-polyEnglish
  • SlaterEnglish
  • Sow bugEnglish
  • حشرة القرص الطبيArabic
  • МокрицаBulgarian
  • Porquet de Sant AntoniCatalan
  • svinka obecnáCzech
  • kuglebænkebiderDanish
  • Almindelig kuglebænkebiderDanish
  • RollasselGerman
  • Gemeine RollasselGerman
  • KugelasselGerman
  • Αρμαδιλλίδιο το ΚοινόGreek
  • Marranito de TierraSpanish
  • Bicho bolita mediterráneoSpanish
  • Chanchito de tierraSpanish
  • Cochinilla mediterráneaSpanish
  • Harilik keraskakandEstonian
  • mustapallosiiraFinnish
  • Cloporte communFrench
  • Armadille communeFrench
  • Armadille mélangéeFrench
  • Armadille vulgaireFrench
  • Armadillidie communeFrench
  • Cloporte tatou communFrench
  • cloporte vulgaireFrench
  • כדרורון השפלהHebrew
  • Klupčasta baburaCroatian
  • közönséges gömbászkaHungarian
  • OniscoItalian
  • Porcellino di Sant'AntonioItalian
  • Porcellino di terraItalian
  • Verme a pallinaItalian
  • オカダンゴムシJapanese
  • 공벌레Korean
  • skiferkuleskrukketrollNorwegian Bokmål
  • gewone oprolpissebedDutch
  • Kulanka pospolitaPolish
  • Tatuzinho-comumPortuguese
  • Bicho-de-contaPortuguese
  • Sfere ButpunrheRomany
  • Мокрица-броненосец обыкновеннаяRussian
  • Zvínavka obyčajnáSlovak
  • dokriAlbanian
  • dostaAlbanian
  • Tespih BöceğiTurkish
  • Tespih KabuklusuTurkish
  • Згортик звичайнийUkrainian
  • 尋常球鼠婦Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMS

Relatives of the pillbug

Other species in the same genus Armadillidium.

Clown isopod

Armadillidium klugii

ArmadillidiidaeNo free photo yet

Zebra isopod

Armadillidium maculatum

ArmadillidiidaeNo free photo yet

ComparePillbug vs Painted pill woodlousePillbug vs Clown isopodPillbug vs Beach pill woodlousePillbug vs Zebra isopod

Common questions

Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.

What kind of animal is a pillbug?

The pillbug is a crustacean. It belongs to the order Isopoda and the class Malacostraca.

What is the scientific name of the pillbug?

The scientific name of the pillbug is Armadillidium vulgare, in the genus Armadillidium.

What family does the pillbug belong to?

The pillbug belongs to the family Armadillidiidae, within the suborder Oniscidea.

What other names does the pillbug have?

The pillbug is also called Slater, Sow bug, Roly-poly, Doodle bug and Potato bug.

Who named the pillbug and when?

The authority for Armadillidium vulgare is written as (Latreille, 1804).

Is the pillbug extinct?

No, the pillbug is a living species, not extinct, according to the Catalogue of Life.

Is the pillbug an invasive species?

In some places. The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species flags the pillbug as invasive in 1 country: Canary Islands. It lists it as introduced in 5 in all.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-13. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Pillbug (Armadillidium vulgare). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/pillbug

MLA

“Pillbug (Armadillidium vulgare).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/pillbug.

BibTeX
@misc{pillbug_2026,
  title = {Pillbug (Armadillidium vulgare)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/pillbug},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-13}
}