Onyscidea

The oniscideans (Oniscidea), known colloquially as moisture bugs, earth pigs (in Chile), or bolita bugs, are a suborder of terrestrial isopod crustaceans with about 3000 described species. They have a rigid, segmented and calcareous exoskeleton, and have seven pairs of walking legs or pereopods. Mealybugs can be confused with diplopods (a class of myriapods) with a short and stocky body, with a similar external morphology, the product of convergent evolution. They have one pair of legs per segment, unlike diplopods that have two pairs of legs per segment.

Behavior

Some species of cochineal have the ability to curl up on themselves, forming a ball when they feel threatened, or if their space is very small. Their exoskeleton has an accordion shape that facilitates this coiling.

They are usually found in dark and humid places, such as under rotten wood or in cracks and crevices, because they need to be in contact with a moist surface to be able to breathe (carry out gas exchange through small ventral sheets at the end). from her body).

They feed on plant matter and animal remains, their mouthparts are adapted to chew solid food, such as leaves and exoskeletons of dead insects. To reproduce, they have a special abdominal pouch or sac in which they incubate their eggs, giving rise to miniature versions of the adults, which grow by shedding their skin until they reach the adult stage.

They reproduce sexually.

Taxonomy Infraorder Tylomorpha

• Tylida Section
  • Tylidae

Infraorder Ligiamorpha

• Diplomatic Section Vandel1957
  • Ligiidae
  • Mesoniscidae
• Section Synocheta Legrand, 1946
  • Superfamily Trichoniscoida
    • Buddelundiellidae
    • Trichoniscidae
  • Superfamily Styloniscoidea
    • Schoebliidae
    • Styloniscidae
    • Titaniidae
    • Tunanoniscidae
• Crinocheta Section Legrand, 1946
  • Superfamily Oniscoidea
    • Bathytropidae
    • Berytoniscidae
    • Detonidae
    • Halophilosciidae
    • Olibrinidae
    • Oniscidae
    • Philosciidae
    • Platyarthridae
    • Pudeoniscidae
    • Rhyscotidae
    • Scyphacidae
    • Spelaeoniscidae
    • Sphaeroniscidae
    • Stenoniscidae
    • Tendosphaeridae
  • Superfamily Armadilloidea
    • Actaeciidae
    • Agnaridae
    • Armadillidae
    • Armadillidiidae
    • Atlantidiidae
    • Balloniscidae
    • Cylisticidae
    • Eubelidae
    • Periscyphicidae
    • Porcellionidae
    • Trachelipdidae
• incertae sedis
  • Dubioniscidae
  • Helelidae
  • Irmaosidae
  • Pseudarmadillidae
  • Scleropactidae