Pill millipedes

 

I found these beautiful little pill millipedes Glomeris marginata, with their overlapping plates of armour, under the loose bark of a fallen tree in Weardale. When disturbed, they curl up into a ball, like an armadillo, and then roll away.  They are easily confused with the superficially similar pillbug aka pill woodlouse Armadillidium vulgare, which has similar armour and ability to roll-up, but has only 7 pairs of walking legs (click here for pill woodlouse post)