This high quality FSC Woodlouse name trail features the 9 commonest species found in gardens and around buildings.

Simple yes/no questions will quickly guide you to the colour photographs of each woodlouse. Accompanying text on the reverse side covers the features of each woodlouse. This includes body length, colour and distribution in Britain and Ireland.

Ideal to use when purchasing our packs of live woodlice for use in choice chambers or mazes.

Woodlice have an ill-deserved reputation as pests. But they are rarely more than a nuisance. In fact woodlice play an essential role in the garden ecosystem. By chewing up large amounts of dead leaves, they speed up decomposition, helping to return nutrients essential for plant growth to the soil. In the classroom, woodlice are easy to keep on a diet of leaf litter and shredded carrot. They are excellent models for illustrating the reactions of moisture-loving animals to light and humidity.

This guide is an introduction to the species of woodlice which are most common in gardens and near buildings. Obvious places to look for woodlice are under logs, bricks and stones and in piles of leaf litter. However, not all woodlice are confined to damp situations. In southwest England, for example, all three species of pill woodlouse in this guide crawl over exposed stones on hot sunny days. The key will only work with live specimens. With a little experience all nine species can be identified with the naked eye. They do not bite or sting!

Please return all live woodlice to where you found them or a similarly suitable habitat once you have finished your investigations.

Mainland Britain

Our UK mainland delivery charges are as follows: (All figures are exc. VAT)

We send all items by Royal Mail 24. Please allow 2 days for us to dispatch, although it could be longer at busier times. This is a tracked service but NOT signed for, if you require a signed for service please select next day delivery.

For next day delivery, please order by 12 noon, item must be in stock. All stock levels are shown on the web, if showing as out of stock or prepared to order and required urgently, please contact us as we may have stock! Next day orders are sent by Royal Mail Special Delivery by 1pm.

Drosophila are always dispatched on a Monday, please advise when ordering your preferred delivery week.

Our working hours are 9.30am - 4pm Monday - Thursday, 9am - 12pm Friday. Orders received outside these hours will be processed the next working day; orders are only dispatched Monday-Thursday (Monday-Wednesday for perishable items). Hours vary during school holidays but we are usually available via email.

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Northern Ireland

Sadly, due to the UK leaving the EU, we can no longer supply Northern Irish customers with any products the have codes starting with an 'L' or 'P'. This is due to the requirement for all live or preserved products to have an import licence specific to the customer purchasing and the product being purchased. As each licence takes 2 weeks to obtain, and involves a considerable amount of paperwork, we have made the difficult decision to stop offering these products to Northern Irish customers. We can still offer equipment, i.e. products with an 'E' code, as these simply require customs documentation.

We apologise for the inconvenience and if the legislation changes we will review our decision.

British Islands

Delivery charges to the Isle of Man, Channel Islands (including Jersey & Guernsey), Shetland, Orkney and all the other islands we've missed, are the same as to mainland Britain (see above). The main difference is that delivery is likely to take a little longer, and for this reason we cannot guarantee next day delivery.

In addition, we cannot ship any liquids, so any 'wet' specimen ordered will be sent vacuum packed rather than in a jar.

International Orders

We welcome international orders but please note only non-perishable and non-animal derivative items, i.e. only those with codes starting with an 'E', can be sent.

Buyer is responsible for all import duties and taxes. EU businesses need to supply an EORI number before we can ship.

EU Delivery: £22

Non-EU Delivery £28

If you wish to buy something very small/lightweight, or need urgent delivery, please contact us for a postage quote, otherwise standard charges apply.

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