9 Jan 2011 - Back Garden, Didcot, Oxon

I opened my new copy of 'Woodlice and Waterlice in Britain and Ireland' (S Gregory), only to be inspired that some of these mini-beasts can be found easily during the winter (summer can drive them, er, underground).

With no news of any Waxwings in Didcot, I instead ventured out to the back garden for a quick look-see while the Wiff was asleep. Checking a few upturned bricks and bits of wood, this was definately my childhood returning!

So, how did I do? Well, I was really choughed to find a few tiny, tiny white Woodlice (3-4mm) in an ants nest. In the past, I probably would have dismissed these as baby Woodlice - but I'm more educated on these things now, so have identified them as Platyarthus hoffmannseggii - great name eh?

Platyarthus hoffmannseggii

The other species found wasn't quite so easy to ID - and I may well have got things wrong. But I reckon they are Porcellio scaber.

Porcellio scaber

These white blobs are the lungs - strange stuff eh?