Pill bug
Armadillidiidae is a family of woodlice, a terrestrial crustacean group in the order Isopoda. They are commonly known as pill bugs or potato bugs or rollie pollies. Pill bugs are not insects, but are crustaceans. Crustaceans are animals with hard shells made from many pieces for protection.
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| Pill bug in its defensive posture | |
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| Family: | Armadillidiidae Brandt, 1833
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Pill bugs look like gray pills. The pill bug's abdomen has seven segments. Pill bugs have flat bodies. The pill bug has three basic body parts called the head, thorax, and abdomen, moce and they can be many sizes.
The head has three eyes (simple and compound) and a mouth. Pill bugs have two sets of antennae. One of the sets is visible to see. The thorax holds the legs. The abdomen holds the exopods of uropods and is attached to some crustaceans' abdomens. Pill bugs consume decaying organic matter, like rotten plants, rotten animals, old garbage, and even bits of food in animal dung. This diet allows for Pill bugs to return essential nutrients to the soil, improving its structure.[1] Pill bugs do not breathe through lungs; they have gills. Because of this, they need to be in a damp place or they will die. They also prefer dark rocks or any other dark place to stay that is dark. They are more active at night and early morning because of the darkness. Pill bugs are not beneficial to potted plants. If you notice your potted plants have one or two of them crawling around on the plant, there are probably many more that you don't see feeding off of the roots.
Pill bugs reproduce by laying eggs in a moist environment, where the female carries them in a specialized pouch called a marsupium until they hatch into miniature versions of adults.[2]Pill bugs have the typical lifespan of an isopod, living two years average and five years maximum.
For some people, looking for pill bugs in their garden is helpful to their garden and also enjoyable, especially for small children. To some people, keeping pill bugs as pets is also an enjoyable thing. To keep a pill bug as a pet, its area where it is kept in must be moist and/or damp, with plants that are fresh and plants that have begun to rot.
Pill Bug Media
Macro photograph of a pill bug (roly poly) climbing over wood mulch.
References
- ↑ "pillbug - Armadillidium vulgare". entnemdept.ufl.edu. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
- ↑ "pillbug - Armadillidium vulgare". entnemdept.ufl.edu. Retrieved 2024-10-25.