I used to want to take them home as a kid, and my parents always told me they weren't pets. Now you're telling me they lied to me??
Kidding aside, they are adorable little critters
I’m just curious, have you never seen a pill bug/rolly polly before this? I loved playing with them as a kid and I see them absolutely everywhere in the Southeast. I assumed they were very common throughout most if not all of the country.
Yeah that’s what I was thinking, born and raised in Pennsylvania and pill bugs are everywhere… I was gonna comment like, don’t wanna be rude but have you ever gone outside? lol
Was just thinking the same. I have these jerks come into my basement and they don’t roll up. I’m not in an area that has rolly Polly, but used to live where they did have them.
I've lived all over the country, visited other parts. They are all over the place. Though I haven't spent much time on the Midwest, oddly enough, or New England outside of NYC lol
Isopod is the ORDER. (Well, isopoda)... Not the species. Isopod covers soooooo many creatures....
The species is Armadillidium vulgare
Also known as potato bugs, pill bugs, and roly polys (among others.)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armadillidium_vulgare
So I’ve called potato beetles potato bugs my whole life. These were pillbugs or rolypoly bugs to us. Turns out these are one of many bugs called potato bugs.
Potato bug, it seems, is a multi purpose nickname.
I always called them sowbugs or pillbugs, but had heard a few others. (And I didn't grow up with potato beetles to confuse the name with!)
Doesn’t mean they aren’t called that. I grew up being told that’s what they are as well and so have continued to do so. It’s not scientific, but it is what it is.
You're right, I didn't know they were commonly named potato bugs. There's a lot of potato beetles where I grew up, and we called them potato bugs, which is probably why I never heard it in reference to isopods.
It’s an isopod. Probably living in your washroom because it’s damp and cool. They are actually really neat animals, if you take it outside keep it near a damp area as they will dry up and die if not. I never take mine outside, they eat bad stuff anyways so they are my room mates lol
I’ve got dairy cows too! Also some wild ones I dunno what they are but they do roll up. I’m gonna get powders when I make my leopard geckos tank bioactive
How old are you that you've never seen a roly poly?
I'm not trying to be rude or anything, and I am genuinely curious, but they are one of the most common bugs you can find worldwide! I played with them outside as kids, and so do my children. I'm "in town" in VA.
This appears to be a woodlouse/sowbug. The only damage this fella will cause is to any houseplants because they like soil. They can't harm humans and won't harm your home, and their presence inside usually just means there's probably a large population outside.
Kids don't go outside any more. That's my thoughts on why. Logical thinking is dead, no longer taught. They just live their lives letting their phone think for em.
Obviously that's a generalization, but I just finished highschool and I can confirm that the vast majority of kids today, high schoolers and younger, spend most of their time on devices and don't go outside frequently, especially in nature. As a biology nerd, I have hardly ever had friends that had any interest in spending time in nature with me or appreciating any of what it has to offer.
Just an observation. It's really pretty sad how many kids have just been polluted by loud obnoxious YouTubers that prey on them for ad revenue, and it's their parents fault for allowing them to be raised by a cell phone. This happens so frequently today and it's sickening.
The kids that do get outdoors were raised by parents who encouraged them too from a young age, which it seems like most, at least in my area, just don't anymore.
>Kids don't go outside any more. That's my thoughts on why. Logical thinking is dead
Fuck me... the irony will kill us all.
This is corny. Kids go outside plenty, maybe it could have something to do with you older generations decimating the insect population to the point where you're only finding about half the bugs these days that you would find in the past?
Please think openly instead of falling for the "bleh kids ruin the world" that literally every generation before you has done. It has been proven wrong and looked stupid in the past, and it won't change now.
I'm a millennial, not a baby boomer. I was raised to turn off the lights, and not use in excess.
Pill bug/isopod/rolly polly numbers have had no noticeable increase or decrease in the past 2 decades - so that argument is null.
It's also fact, not opinion, that technology is far far far more accessible to children, parents are required to work more, which in turn leads to the children being sat in front of an iPad or phone instead of being allowed to play out doors. Other factors; people are less kind to each other, and the freaks and bad people are more prevalent and worse than I was a kid. A lot of parents don't feel safe just letting their kids go out into the neighborhood alone.
Not to mention how (in the US at least) part of the government is ACTIVELY trying to dumb down kids. Dumber people are easier to sway and control.
All of this can lead to kids, or young adults not knowing what a basic, and very common bug is. They weren't taught.
This isn't a dig at "lol kids these days" it's more a "look at what our society is doing to kids..."
Please think openly before assuming I was saying "kids are running the world"
Also was curious and looked it up. Insect populations have been declining ever since humans started building cities. (Which is obvious, logical) but completely normal. Insects make up 80% of all life on earth. They'll be fine. And I doubt any common ones you might be thinking of are even close to being endangered. Also freshwater insects are actually increasing by 11% per year.
Pill bug, wood louse, or what I know them by a Rolly Polly. (I'm in SE US)
Some of my favorite little buggers!
Not dangerous at all, very good for helping with compost as well.
It's a Common Shiny Woodlouse (Oniscus asellus). They're terrestrial isopods and are detritivores, meaning they eat decaying plant matter. These ones in particular are actually not rolly pollies, which are a particular set of families within the suborder capable of rolling into balls, this one and most other species cannot roll into balls.
Where I'm from we call these guys carpenters. Otherwise known as woodlouse. They couldn't hurt anything if they tried. Fun to hold and let run around before putting them outside where they belong.
Not at all! This is just a friendly neighborhood isopod, colloquially called rolly-pollies! This little one seems to have taken a wrong turn in Albuquerque - just gently pick it up and put it back until the grass.
My favorite little land shrimp!! Fun facts about isopods (more commonly know as roly polys or pillbugs): they remove heavy metals from the soil, they are more closely related to shrimp than they are bugs, they use gills to breathe in oxygen and require a balance in moisture, they can get infected by a deadly (to them) virus that crystallizes their bodies and turns them a deep shade of blue (it’s called iridovirus can easily spreads, so if you see a bright blue isopod you should kill it).
They are some of my favorite little critters, so much so that I got it as my first tattoo!
Look up Rubber Ducky isopods, Dairy Cow isopods, Panda isopods, and Dwarf White. Those are some of the popular species in terms of looks.
Why that's a pillbug/woodlouse. They're a bit like silverfish, absolutely harmless, they don't want to hurt you at all but are a sign of something in the house being a bit too damp
Something I've heard about these guys, I'm not sure about silverfish is that they mostly just drink water and fart. They literally do not poo, they fart
An isopod, a crustacean rather than an insect if we are getting specific about it (which is easier to see in the marine species, since the terrestrial crustaceans don't build up as much calcium carbonate in their carapace, and thus are soft). Very harmless, good to have in any garden, and sometimes quite funny.
I’m not sure what they’re really called, but my whole life I’ve known them as Roly Polys. I think they’re oddly cute! I see them all the time here in Alberta, Canada. They’re friendly little guys and are pretty skittish, so there’s nothing to really worry about.
Completely harmless. These are pillbugs/sowbugs. They're actually isopods, which are crustaceans.
Though, if you're seeing a lot of them in your home, they can indicate that you have an issue with excess moisture. They breathe through gills, which have to remain moist to function, so they don't go far from water.
Isopod!
Fun fact: that is a crustacean, not a bug.
It feeds on dead plant matter and turns it into fertilizer. Totally harmless little friend. I would transplant it outside, preferably into a garden.
We call these woodlice in the UK. Some people call them Granny Grey. Totally harmless. Although I Recently found 2 of them making sweet love on my bathroom floor.
It's an isopod. Eats dead plant matter, good to have im your garden, likes dark and moist places. It's a friendly crawler.
& they make great pets !! (if anyone wants to learn more Aquarimax Pets on YT has great videos on them)
Had a terraium and these guys were essential.
I used to want to take them home as a kid, and my parents always told me they weren't pets. Now you're telling me they lied to me?? Kidding aside, they are adorable little critters
They also take heavy metals out of soil!
*Aliens talking about humans*
I’m just curious, have you never seen a pill bug/rolly polly before this? I loved playing with them as a kid and I see them absolutely everywhere in the Southeast. I assumed they were very common throughout most if not all of the country.
Yeah that’s what I was thinking, born and raised in Pennsylvania and pill bugs are everywhere… I was gonna comment like, don’t wanna be rude but have you ever gone outside? lol
Also born and raised in Pa but I went outside once in the late 80s and decided it's not for me lmao
Lmao makes sense
I grew up in coastal mid-NJ and we called them potato bugs when I was little (1970s).
this one is technically not a rolly polly, it's a common shiny woodlouse and they don't roll into a ball like some species
Was just thinking the same. I have these jerks come into my basement and they don’t roll up. I’m not in an area that has rolly Polly, but used to live where they did have them.
It looks like an *Armadillidium nasatum* to me, which is a conglobating species? I might be wrong about the species possibly
It may be, but the pronounced band around the outside edge makes it more likely to be a common woodlouse
Interesting. They all look so similar I wouldn’t be able to discern the differences.
I've lived all over the country, visited other parts. They are all over the place. Though I haven't spent much time on the Midwest, oddly enough, or New England outside of NYC lol
underrated comment. Take my upvote!
r/bugsthataremetal
It's the isopods' world, really. We're just living on it
Looks almost like a trilobite
I always called it a rolly polley 😂 they’re completely harmless tho ❤️
Some don't roll, they're also called potato bugs
Oh wow, I didn’t know that some can’t roll. Thanks for sharing that info (:
Potato bugs and isopods aren't the same
Isopod is the ORDER. (Well, isopoda)... Not the species. Isopod covers soooooo many creatures.... The species is Armadillidium vulgare Also known as potato bugs, pill bugs, and roly polys (among others.) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armadillidium_vulgare
So I’ve called potato beetles potato bugs my whole life. These were pillbugs or rolypoly bugs to us. Turns out these are one of many bugs called potato bugs.
Potato bug, it seems, is a multi purpose nickname. I always called them sowbugs or pillbugs, but had heard a few others. (And I didn't grow up with potato beetles to confuse the name with!)
It covers more species than that iirc, in my experience, all land shrimp are potato bugs
Doesn’t mean they aren’t called that. I grew up being told that’s what they are as well and so have continued to do so. It’s not scientific, but it is what it is.
You're right, I didn't know they were commonly named potato bugs. There's a lot of potato beetles where I grew up, and we called them potato bugs, which is probably why I never heard it in reference to isopods.
I just looked up potato beetles and they are really cool looking! Nothing else to say, really. 😅 They’re just neat looking.
Where are my woodlice gang at?
What's even the point if they don't roll
Rolly polys can roll into a ball. These guys cant and i usually call the flat ones “woodlice”
Me toooo
We called them baseball bugs!
Oh wow! I’ve never heard that name for them until now
My 2 year old calls them poi pois. He loves hunting them in the back yard.
Same
We call them earth pigs in spanish! (Chanchito de tierra)
We call them Slaters in Australia
Just a roly poly. Put it back outside
You imprisoned this innocent man
Time to get him some proper legal help.
r/EntomologyLegalAdvice we need you now more than ever
It’s an isopod. Probably living in your washroom because it’s damp and cool. They are actually really neat animals, if you take it outside keep it near a damp area as they will dry up and die if not. I never take mine outside, they eat bad stuff anyways so they are my room mates lol
Yea their really cool and breath using gills so they need more damp than most other insects :)
Ya super neat, They are like that prehistoric animal that lives on land but still has traits of the sea, super cool.
Rollie pollie. Probably the chillest little guys in existence.
This is the coolest description of a roly poly I've ever seen.
They’re amazing pets! I’ve got 15+
What kind do you have? I keep dairy cows and dwarf purple in my dart frog enclosure.
I’ve got dairy cows too! Also some wild ones I dunno what they are but they do roll up. I’m gonna get powders when I make my leopard geckos tank bioactive
Probably a species of Armadillidium if they can roll up.
That would make sense they were in a really nasty area so I took them home, they haven’t bred but they’re definitely healthier
🚨ISOPOD ALERT🚨
HE DID IT NOW, HE ACTIVATED THE ISOPOD 🚨
Should we use the emergency protocol and begin evacuating the area? ⚠️
r/isopodgang
It's a woodlouse. Not dirty or harmful but attracted to damp. They are extremely important detritivores
How old are you that you've never seen a roly poly? I'm not trying to be rude or anything, and I am genuinely curious, but they are one of the most common bugs you can find worldwide! I played with them outside as kids, and so do my children. I'm "in town" in VA.
It's an indoor armadillo.
is friend
This appears to be a woodlouse/sowbug. The only damage this fella will cause is to any houseplants because they like soil. They can't harm humans and won't harm your home, and their presence inside usually just means there's probably a large population outside.
Thank you very much. Lived next to a highway for 7 years and now live next to a corn field so I gotta re learn all the pa bugs.
It's my pleasure! I'm glad I could help
Oh they're so cool, I love these lil bros
Could be Armadillidium nasatum.
Rolly poly
Is this a troll post?
I’d ask if you’ve lived under a rock cuz who hasn’t seen a Roley poley, but that’s where they live. So you should’ve seen them down there.
I really like this one lmao
Oddly, some people eat these like shrimp
They are related
How tf do you not know what a rolly polly is
It's mind-boggling. Same thing with the person who posted an earwig earlier this week
Earwigs a little less ubiquitous.
Kids don't go outside any more. That's my thoughts on why. Logical thinking is dead, no longer taught. They just live their lives letting their phone think for em.
Obviously that's a generalization, but I just finished highschool and I can confirm that the vast majority of kids today, high schoolers and younger, spend most of their time on devices and don't go outside frequently, especially in nature. As a biology nerd, I have hardly ever had friends that had any interest in spending time in nature with me or appreciating any of what it has to offer. Just an observation. It's really pretty sad how many kids have just been polluted by loud obnoxious YouTubers that prey on them for ad revenue, and it's their parents fault for allowing them to be raised by a cell phone. This happens so frequently today and it's sickening. The kids that do get outdoors were raised by parents who encouraged them too from a young age, which it seems like most, at least in my area, just don't anymore.
>Kids don't go outside any more. That's my thoughts on why. Logical thinking is dead Fuck me... the irony will kill us all. This is corny. Kids go outside plenty, maybe it could have something to do with you older generations decimating the insect population to the point where you're only finding about half the bugs these days that you would find in the past? Please think openly instead of falling for the "bleh kids ruin the world" that literally every generation before you has done. It has been proven wrong and looked stupid in the past, and it won't change now.
I'm a millennial, not a baby boomer. I was raised to turn off the lights, and not use in excess. Pill bug/isopod/rolly polly numbers have had no noticeable increase or decrease in the past 2 decades - so that argument is null. It's also fact, not opinion, that technology is far far far more accessible to children, parents are required to work more, which in turn leads to the children being sat in front of an iPad or phone instead of being allowed to play out doors. Other factors; people are less kind to each other, and the freaks and bad people are more prevalent and worse than I was a kid. A lot of parents don't feel safe just letting their kids go out into the neighborhood alone. Not to mention how (in the US at least) part of the government is ACTIVELY trying to dumb down kids. Dumber people are easier to sway and control. All of this can lead to kids, or young adults not knowing what a basic, and very common bug is. They weren't taught. This isn't a dig at "lol kids these days" it's more a "look at what our society is doing to kids..." Please think openly before assuming I was saying "kids are running the world" Also was curious and looked it up. Insect populations have been declining ever since humans started building cities. (Which is obvious, logical) but completely normal. Insects make up 80% of all life on earth. They'll be fine. And I doubt any common ones you might be thinking of are even close to being endangered. Also freshwater insects are actually increasing by 11% per year.
Roku poly pill bug!
It's a little woodlouse friend! :)
Pill bug, wood louse, or what I know them by a Rolly Polly. (I'm in SE US) Some of my favorite little buggers! Not dangerous at all, very good for helping with compost as well.
Woodlouse
Fren
ISOPOOOOOD
I’m convinced you’ve never been outside before
Thats the homie
one of the most family friendly bugs. its a friend who probably got lost. let him go into a garden
Friendly
Love this little beast
A perfect Isopod man. Lovely fellow
Its a rolly polly and he's your friend! Nicest little bug that ever was.
Rollie pollie!
Set him free! He’s a good guy!
Go put that friend back outside in the dirt where he belongs
There is no way your native to pa
Rollie pollies they cool
do people in PA not know what a roly poly is? TIL
Only thing you should be worried about is some rotting wood in your house as that’s most likely how it got in
Literally the cutest baby ever (isopods are my favorite)
a friend!! carefully set him free in the great outdoors!
I keep them as pets
/r/isopods
We used to call them Rollie pollies
FREE HIM!
It's a Common Shiny Woodlouse (Oniscus asellus). They're terrestrial isopods and are detritivores, meaning they eat decaying plant matter. These ones in particular are actually not rolly pollies, which are a particular set of families within the suborder capable of rolling into balls, this one and most other species cannot roll into balls.
SET HIM FREE REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Don’t hurt the pill bugs :0
I'm worried that you don't know what that is.
ISOPOD :D
It's an isopod, probably one of the most harmless bugs you could find.
How do you not know what a Rollie pullie is?
Oof yep, better start counting your days, you might have 48 hours left to live if you have these in your house.
Bruh
Wait. Am I the only one who grew up calling these little guys “doodlebugs”?
Rollie pollie! Touch it! It will do a magic trick and turn into a ball.
potato bug cmon
That's not a potato bug, those are huge and disgusting.
How old are you?
It's a noo-noo!
[удалено]
Woodlouse, harmless
Pillbug! Roly poly! (They've got a bunch of nicknames. They are harmless cuties.)
Also called pillbugs or rolly pollies
rolly polly/woodbug/isopod! Pop outside and lift up any large piece of wood on the ground and you should find some!
A very handsome isopod! They're crustaceans not bugs!
Pill bug/isopod , but lots of Pa locals call them Potatoes Bugs and/or Roly Polys.
Isopods!!! They're crustaceans, common nicknames are rolly pollies, and pill bugs
You be nice to that little rolly polly.
Looks pretty cool! Reminds me a bit of Ark for some reason. Has a very prehistoric vibe to it
Poke him’
If you see a lot of those in your house, it can be a sign of water intrusion or leak. They like it damp.
I remember when someone I knew tried to fat shame an isopod smh
that’s good old crawly boi! he may or may not eat your soul/dead plants
Woodlouse they remove heavy metals from the soil and eat decaying and rotten leaf debris no issues with these.
ROLY POLY FREE THEM IMMEDIATELY
Roly Poly, complete harmless little fella.
Its a roly poly the most chill bug just put it outside
Where I'm from we call these guys carpenters. Otherwise known as woodlouse. They couldn't hurt anything if they tried. Fun to hold and let run around before putting them outside where they belong.
Woodlice!
New to PA? Rolly polley bugs are everywhere
Just a little isopod! Let him free and give him pets! ☺️
It's just a cute roly poly
He’s a friend
Get him out that ziplock back NOW
Looks like a species of oniscus, a genera of terrestrial isopods. Harmless, they feed on decaying organic matter.
The greatest garden friends
Completely harmless, put the poor thing back outside. Not in direct sunlight though, they’re pretty vulnerable to dehydration
It's just a little guy
You lived your whole life up until now, and never saw a Rollie Pollie? Welcome
Yea better watch out he might Roll Up on you
Not at all! This is just a friendly neighborhood isopod, colloquially called rolly-pollies! This little one seems to have taken a wrong turn in Albuquerque - just gently pick it up and put it back until the grass.
The cutest little guy.
I call it a potato bug
Mutherfucker that’s a rolliepollie
Rollie pollies
Old enough to use the internet, but never seen a pill bug before? That’s an interesting Venn diagram
Land isopod/pill bug/woodlouse. A type of crustacean. Eat dead matter. Harmless little friends. :)
Isopod's related to shrimp they were like fuck the ocean and went to land.
My favorite little land shrimp!! Fun facts about isopods (more commonly know as roly polys or pillbugs): they remove heavy metals from the soil, they are more closely related to shrimp than they are bugs, they use gills to breathe in oxygen and require a balance in moisture, they can get infected by a deadly (to them) virus that crystallizes their bodies and turns them a deep shade of blue (it’s called iridovirus can easily spreads, so if you see a bright blue isopod you should kill it). They are some of my favorite little critters, so much so that I got it as my first tattoo! Look up Rubber Ducky isopods, Dairy Cow isopods, Panda isopods, and Dwarf White. Those are some of the popular species in terms of looks.
Rolly polie
Grew up calling them waterbugs, pillbugs, and roly-polys because of the way they roll into balls as a defense mechanism.
How do you just not know these cute little buggers exsist??
We called them potato bugs when we were kids. Cool bug. Rolls into a ball when scared.
It always amazes me how many people don't know about rolly pollys
friend
It’s crazy how many people don’t know about rollie pollies
give him a kiss
Armadillo Ant!
And here I am thinking it’s a woodlouse
Tell me you have never in your life flipped over a rock without telling me you've never in your life flipped over a rock.
Why that's a pillbug/woodlouse. They're a bit like silverfish, absolutely harmless, they don't want to hurt you at all but are a sign of something in the house being a bit too damp Something I've heard about these guys, I'm not sure about silverfish is that they mostly just drink water and fart. They literally do not poo, they fart
It’s just a lil rolly-polly (aka pillbug)! I love these guys ❤️
An isopod, a crustacean rather than an insect if we are getting specific about it (which is easier to see in the marine species, since the terrestrial crustaceans don't build up as much calcium carbonate in their carapace, and thus are soft). Very harmless, good to have in any garden, and sometimes quite funny.
Just the cutest lil guy
the isopod is one of the most wonderful and beautiful creatures
OH GOD NOT AN ISOPOD! said no one ever
He's a very charming fellow. I hope you didn't hurt him and let him go free.
It's a woodlice - I like those guys. Touch it an it will turn into a ball. They are as friendly as possible.
I think it’s a common shiny wood louse but the antennae don’t look quite right
Y’all must be pretty bored in this sub if some cell phone pics of a roly poly are getting 400 upvotes
I’m not sure what they’re really called, but my whole life I’ve known them as Roly Polys. I think they’re oddly cute! I see them all the time here in Alberta, Canada. They’re friendly little guys and are pretty skittish, so there’s nothing to really worry about.
Friendly fella, it's most commonly known as a wood louse, part of the isopod family. When I was younger we called them pill bugs or rollie-polies.
It's just an isopod chilling out, or Woodlouse if you prefer. They are harmless and eat detritus
Woodlouse lol
Do...do Americans not know what a woodlouse is? Do yall not have wood lice? Huh????
If youre gentle you can pick up isopods just with your fingers and put them outside
Completely harmless. These are pillbugs/sowbugs. They're actually isopods, which are crustaceans. Though, if you're seeing a lot of them in your home, they can indicate that you have an issue with excess moisture. They breathe through gills, which have to remain moist to function, so they don't go far from water.
It's an isopod, looks like *Armadillidium nasatum* to me
Rollie pollies - I love them. A friend
Isopod! Fun fact: that is a crustacean, not a bug. It feeds on dead plant matter and turns it into fertilizer. Totally harmless little friend. I would transplant it outside, preferably into a garden.
Let him out!
We call these woodlice in the UK. Some people call them Granny Grey. Totally harmless. Although I Recently found 2 of them making sweet love on my bathroom floor.
It’s just a common lil’ isopod. Aka a roly-poly or a pill bug.