Roly-Poly Or Pillbug: What Do You Call These Illinois Crustaceans?
The other day my sister saw one of these crawling around on the ground and said "Oh look, a roly-poly."
I immediately shot her a blank stare that said, in a wordless way that only an older brother can project, "Are you stupid?" The only roly-poly I was familiar with was the Subway knockoff that I know I've eaten at but couldn't remember a thing about it.
Those were clearly pillbugs. Everyone knows what a pillbug is. They're the gross little things that look like, pills I guess, when you turn over a log in a mossy area. These bugs.
Turns out we're both right and a few other options are as well.
ReconnectWithNature.Com - The official name for these creatures is pillbug. They are also sometimes called woodlice, because they are often found under logs. Pillbugs are sometimes also referred to as sowbugs.
They're also not actually bugs. They're technically crustaceans and are more closely related to shrimp. Which leads me to an obvious next questions.
Can you eat pillbugs/roly-polys/sowbugs?
Turns out you can. Gross.
One more fun pillbug fact. They don't urinate. At least according to the Will County website article on pillbugs they don't.
Most animals urinate because they need to get rid of ammonia. Pillbugs have a high tolerance for ammonia and instead simply continuously expel ammonia gas through pores in their shell.
They're basically constantly farting through their skin 24/7.
Double gross.
But anyway. Pillbug is mostly right and that's all that matters when settling a sibling disagreement.
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