The larvae then hatch as mancae, small, white offspring resembling the adult except for the absence of the last pair of pereiopods[8]. This causes the appearance of the mother 'giving birth' to her offspring[9].
Excretion.
Woodlice also have a physiological adaptation of producing and excreting nitrogenous ammonia gas waste instead of urine. Most animals find ammonia to be too toxic for excretion, meaning any ammonia formed is usually converted to urea or uric acid for excretion. Slaters however have adapted physiologically and structurally in order to pose a very high resistance to ammonia, providing them with the ability to excrete it as a gas directly through the surface of their exoskeleton. This is a beneficial adaptation as it means that they do not need to use energy to convert the ammonia to area or uric acid before excretion[9].
Growth.
Slaters moult their shell approximately every two months as adults. They have adapted to firstly moult the back half of their exoskeleton, followed by the front half up to three days later. By moulting in two halves, the Slater is able to reduce its vulnerability to predation or desiccation whilst moulting[9]. .
Nutrition.
Slaters have adapted behaviorally to eat their own faeces through Coprophagy in order to reabsorb sufficient copper minerals which have been lost through excretion. Bacterial action on the faeces also helps to break the copper minerals down into a form which is more easily absorbed by the Slaters bodies[9]. Slaters have also adapted structurally to gather water in order to avoid desiccation. Not only do the Slaters receive water through eating food and plant matter, they have also developed to gather water stores through structural adaptations of uropods to replace water lost by transpiration. These are tube like structures located on the posterior/back end of the Slater. They are pressed against moist surfaces where they undergo capillary action resulting in the absorption of water.