Pillbug Lab Report

Pillbugs are also known as terrestrial isopods but non scientific names include sow bugs and woodlice. These terrestrial isopods are in the class of crustaceous, this class includes lobsters and crabs and is part of a larger group named arthropoda. Pillbugs have four pairs of mouthparts, and have multiple flexible joints. Pillbugs also have a flat and rounded back, wide head, 14 legs with 7 pairs all together, and they have the ability to roll into a ball when in danger. Pillbugs have 7 main “trunks”and have multiple overlain gills which allow the insect breathe. The diet of a pillbug consists of dead or decaying plant or animals, and pillbugs are both scavengers and omnivores. Due to their gills pillbugs live in areas with high humidity such as under fallen trees, logs, rocks, bushes, and wet leaves. In our hypothesis we state that if the pillbugs are accustomed to breathing water, then they will be drawn to the less sweet liquids.
While completing this lab we used four liquids. We used water, milk, orange juice, and soda. To hold the liquids we used two q-tips. We used two petri dishes, one was to hold the pill bugs while they were not being used in the

experiment, the other was to hold the two q-tips while doing the experiment. You will receive two pillbugs to complete your experiment. For the first step in our experiment, submerge one side of the q-tip into the water, and the other side into the soda. Then, take out your one q-tip and place it in the middle of the petri dish. Take your second q-tip and immerse one side into the milk and the other in the orange juice. Then situate your second q-tip in the middle of the petri dish, on top of the first q-tip, the q-tips should now make a “X” formation. Position your two pill bugs in the middle of the petri dish, make sure you know which pill bug is which so you can record your data accurately. Allow your pillbugs to go to their desired spots. Once they settle, measure the distance in mm between the pillbugs and all the q-tips. Measure the distance starting from the very tip of the pillbugs head and the head of the q-tip, and record your data. Transition the q-tips so they are placed in a different position, that way you can accurately observe your test specimens. Repeat steps five through eight, five times. t
Pillbug 1 was 1mm from the water, 56mm away from the milk, 78mm away from the orange juice, and 53mm away from the soda during trial one.

Pillbug 2 was 56mm away from the water.50 mm away from the milk, 75mm awaY from the orange juice, and 3mm away from the soda. Trail three, bug one was 0mm away from the water, 55mm from the milk, 46mm away from the orange juice, and 80mm away from the soda. Trail three, bug two was 33mm away from the water, 75mm away from the milk, 25mm away from the orange juice, and 73mm away from the soda. Trial five, bug one, was 76mm away from the water, 51mm away from the milk, 65mm away from the orange juice, and 10mm away from the soda. For trial five, bug two, 75mm away from the water, 53mm away from the milk, 62mm away from the orange juice, and 7 mm away from the

soda.
Our data concluded that the pill bugs did not prefer one particular liquid to another.The pill bugs placement was random, there was no specific pattern to their movement. For example, pill bug one placed itself 1mm away from the water in trial one, 53mm in trial 2, 0mm in trial 3, 57mm in trial 4, 76mm in trial 5. As you can see, the pillbugs did not have a certain preference to where they went throughout the entire experiment. One possible sources of error could of been that there was remnants of the past liquids on the petri dish, once we changed the placement of the q-tips. This error could be solved by wiping all the residue that was left behind with a wet paper towel, thus cleaning that area of all the past liquids. A second source of error is that the ruler that we used to measure the distance was a stiff ruler, which did not allow us to maneuver in within the petri dish and get accurate measurements. This source of error could have been changed if we had a flexible ruler. This would have helped get inside the dish and get as close as possible to our pillbug to get a precise measurement. The third source of error would be how the q-tips could have lost most of its liquid by the end of the experiment. By losing moisture, it could have affected the way the pill bugs were attracted to the liquids. This could have been avoided if we resubmerged the q-tips in the liquids throughout the experiment.
I reject our hypothesis. The pill bugs did not favor one liquid over another. This experiment could be used for the owners of pillbugs to help them care for their insects and provide the right liquid to be around. You can do several experiments with pillbugs. For example, how long it takes for them to get to a certain liquid and how long they stay there. Our data does not help us immensely with discovering more about pill bugs or finding anything significant in the way they act; other than their neutral opinions on the liquids we presented to them. The pillbugs did not react in one way towards the liquid and were indifferent to where they were in the petri dish.