A rolly poly (pronounced: roll-e pole-e). I have also heard them referred to as pill bugs, but that was probably in science class or something. Lovely terrestrial crustaceans, they are! =)
that, and the similar bugs that have shinier armor that doesn't flare a bit at the bottom,is called a rollie-pollie bug. or rolly pollie. however it's spelled.
but I'm pretty sure I've seen them here, otherwise I wouldn't have known what they are called. But I certainly don't see them much these days. I'm pretty sure I used to see them a lot when I was a little kid in Arlington. I may also have seen some in Somerville a few years ago, but I'm not positive.
Amazing. A lifetime of looking under rocks and I have never seen them here.
The first time I flipped over a rock in San Francisco I found one. The first rock I flipped over on Easter Island was teeming with them (along with non-pilling isopods and millipedes).
What gives?
Maybe it's a rural/urban thing. Back in the Connecticut river valley, where I grew up, there were only tiny gray slugs. Here in Boston we have the huge leopard slugs (as well as little yellowish ones I never saw growing up). Well, I have a mission now (stupid though it may be).
Oh, and I would very much like to add you. I'm a student at a local university majoring in horticulture and mycology, and you seem incredibly interesting. Like I said, if it's alright, I'd like to add you.
I'm in a city bristling with Universities, and I doubt there's a horticulture or mycology major offered anywhere nearby. I'm in the weird position of considering leaving Boston to find a good college.
I had been calling them roly poly's or less frequently pill bugs until your visit out here a year and a half ago when you identified them as sow bugs for Duncan. Unfortunately, I now realize I've been calling them sow beetles and even I can tell they aren't any kind of beetle.
As you can see from the other comments, you aren't the only one calling them roly-polies. No common name is better than any of the others. Where did you pick up "roly-poly?" I never heard them called anything when we were kids. I'm sure I picked up "sowbug" from reading those animal encyclopedias. (But I seem to remember calling them "wood lice" more often.)
Probably from mom, although it could have been just about any of the kids from SAS. I seem to recall there being a great fascination with the way they curl up into a defensive ball.
Weird. I don't remember hearing "roly poly" until recently.
I seem to recall there being a great fascination with the way they curl up into a defensive ball.
Are you serious?! Part of my obsession with these things has to do with the fact that I've never seen the "pillbug" kind (with the armadillo defense) in New England. I'm stunned. I'm gonna turn over a lot of logs and rocks in the next few days.
Pillbugs (which roll up into a ball for defense) and Sowbugs (which don't) are small, friendly armored creatures that are easy to care for and fun to observe. Okay, so technically they're terrestrial isopods, but we prefer to think of them as the insect world's idea of an armadillo! In fact, the Pill Bug's scientific name reflects the similarity... not to mention their peaceful nature and protective body armor.
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I like them, they tickle when they crawl on you!
Go go isopods!
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when i was a little kid they were always in my sandbox. i loved to "play" with them. (i suppose i've always been
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But sometimes I slip and call them doodlebugs.
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Pill Bugs in Mass.
My memory isn't what it used to be...
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The first time I flipped over a rock in San Francisco I found one. The first rock I flipped over on Easter Island was teeming with them (along with non-pilling isopods and millipedes).
What gives?
Maybe it's a rural/urban thing. Back in the Connecticut river valley, where I grew up, there were only tiny gray slugs. Here in Boston we have the huge leopard slugs (as well as little yellowish ones I never saw growing up). Well, I have a mission now (stupid though it may be).
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Oh, and I would very much like to add you. I'm a student at a local university majoring in horticulture and mycology, and you seem incredibly interesting. Like I said, if it's alright, I'd like to add you.
Take it easy.
-Rob
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I'm in a city bristling with Universities, and I doubt there's a horticulture or mycology major offered anywhere nearby. I'm in the weird position of considering leaving Boston to find a good college.
Schrodinger's cat
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I seem to recall there being a great fascination with the way they curl up into a defensive ball.
Are you serious?! Part of my obsession with these things has to do with the fact that I've never seen the "pillbug" kind (with the armadillo defense) in New England. I'm stunned. I'm gonna turn over a lot of logs and rocks in the next few days.
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I'm pretty sure they rolled up into balls when I was a kid, but that was a long time ago, I may be remembering it wrong.
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Pill Bug.
Rolly-Polly.
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(Anonymous) 2006-08-31 07:29 pm (UTC)(link)no subject
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(Anonymous) 2007-06-05 08:49 pm (UTC)(link)I call them doodlebugs but my wife calls them pill bugs
(Anonymous) 2007-08-18 04:02 am (UTC)(link)Pillbugs roll into a ball; sowbugs don't (otherwise, they're similar)
(Anonymous) 2007-10-13 11:35 pm (UTC)(link)no subject
(Anonymous) 2008-01-31 06:38 pm (UTC)(link)They're called slaters in Australia...
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(Anonymous) 2008-09-22 07:46 pm (UTC)(link)no subject
(Anonymous) 2009-05-10 12:31 am (UTC)(link)Well, those are all the different names.
I personally call it a rolly polly.
:)
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(Anonymous) 2009-05-10 12:34 am (UTC)(link)I still call it a rolly polly.
:)