Online information
A number of publications (identification guides, distribution atlases, etc) of interest to British and Irish workers are publicly and freely available online. A selection is listed below (also see 'Additional Resources').
Illustrated key to Woodlice of Berks, Bucks and Oxon
This identification guide (by Steve Gregory, 2019) includes all species of woodlouse known to occur in central southern England, so exclusively coastal species and those only found further north are not included ~ download pdf here
Modern County Distribution Atlases
Nottinghamshire
Modern Atlas of Nottinghamshire Woodlice ~ latest version (currently v4, 2023) view here & download pdf (at bottom of article)
Early Species Distribution Atlases
Atlases covering Britain and Ireland
Several earlier atlases are available online as scanned pdf files.
- Woodlice in Britain and Ireland: distribution and habitat (Harding & Sutton, 1985). 151pp. ~ download pdf here
- Provisional atlas of the crustacea of the British Isles. Part 1 Isopoda: Oniscoidea - Woodlice. (Harding, 1976). 50pp. ~ download pdf here
- Distribution Atlas of Woodlice in Ireland (Doogue & Harding, 1982). 84pp ~ download pdf here
Local or County Atlases
- Woodlice in Suffolk (Paul Lee, 1993) ~ download pdf here
- Leicestershire Woodlice (Jon Daws, 1994) ~ download pdf here
- Millipedes, Centipedes and Woodlice of the Sheffield Area (Paul Richards, 1995) ~ download pdf here
- Atlas of Oxfordshire Isopoda: Woodlice (Steve Gregory & John Campbell, 1995) ~ download pdf here
The Woodlice of France, The Netherlands and Belgium
Information for those who wish to expand their woodlousing into continental Europe.
Faune de France
Many of the earlier volumes of the Fauna de France series are now available online to download free in pdf format. The complete list can be found at: http://www.faunedefrance.org/
This includes:
- Vandel (1960) Faune de France 64 - Woodlice, part 1
- Vandel (1962) Faune de France 66 - Woodlice, part 2
Key to the woodlice of Northern France
Noël & Séchet (2021): A fully illustrated key to the identification of the 69 species of woodlice known in Northern France can be downloaded free online. It includes all native and naturalised woodlice known to occur in Britain and Ireland, except Metatrichonicoides celticus, and several that could eventually make it across The Channel. The text is in French but the 93 colour figures help make it accessible to all.
Websites
These sites include images of British, and additional, species and links to papers (some in English) relevant to our UK fauna:
Cloporteweb (text in French); Woodlice of the Netherlands (in Dutch) and Spinicornis ~ The Belgian Woodlouse Working Group
World Catalog (checklist) and Bibliography of Woodlice (Isopoda: Oniscidea)
The two PDF-files are available for download of the following hard-copy publications:
SCHMALFUSS, H. (2003): World catalog of terrestrial isopods (Isopoda: Oniscidea). – Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde, Serie A, Nr. 654: 341 pp.; Stuttgart. (A list of all then known species of Woodlouse)
SCHMALFUSS, H. & WOLF-SCHWENNINGER, K. (2002): A bibliography of terrestrial isopods (Crustacea, Isopoda, Oniscidea). – Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde, Serie A, Nr. 639: 120 pp.; Stuttgart. (A list of all key woodlouse literature)
Download updated (2004) bibliography here
Note: The current World list of Isopoda (including woodlice and waterlice) is is maintained by the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History - www.marinespecies.org/isopoda
American Isopod and Myriapod Group
The American Isopod and Myriapod Group (AIMG) was founded in October 2022 and covers all species of Isopoda (terrestrial, freshwater and marine) occurring across North and Central America. The website is still under development but their intention is to undertake a similar role to that of BMIG on the 'other side of the pond' (aka Britain and Ireland).