??? Woodlouse info please ???

[Miss Lily]

I have read that it can take a baby woodlouse up to 15 months to mature. Does anyone know how long they live for and how many babies they produce at once? I have loads and loads of females with brood pouches! I am thinking of separating one to see how many babies she has. I have also been trying to found out if they hibernate as I have read they only produce one brood per year. Is their care any different during the winter months?

 

[sandrachameleon]

They live up to five years.
They mostly breed in the spring, but I have had females full of babies at other times of year also. I've read they have 20-200 young each time, though I've never bothered to try counting. I suspect the number of young would depend on the age/size of the female and the availability of food.
They do hybertate during winter, in nature. For my colonies, I put them in my basement for about a month in mid-winter, and essentially ignore them. Its cold, but doesnt freeze. I dont know if they really need this or not. Clearly they dont need a harsh winter to be happy. I only do this much to mine each winter because it is convenient for me.

 

[pssh]

My P. scaber (which is the species I suspect yours are) had anywhere from (approx.) 20-100 babies generally depending on how big the female was. I've read scientific studies where certain other species could have up to well over 100. (My personal number of 100 is from when I separated the biggest/fattest females and counted the babies as best I could without messing the numbers up too much.) Full grown females were more likely to have closer to 100 babies IME.

Woodlice are neat in that they can mate and reproduce well before they are fully grown. They can usually start reproducing at about half of their adult size. My P. laevis have babies even when they are less than half their adult size.