The pill bug is the only crustacean that can spend its entire life on land. Pill Bug Facts for Kids Pill bug shells look like armor and they are known for their ability to roll into a ball.
Diet: Pill bugs mostly eat rotting vegetation like vegetables. Habitat: Pill bugs live in wet locations. Pill bugs are also known to consume heavy metal deposits during their feeding activities in the soil, and during this process they may help remove soil deposits of metals such as copper, lead and zinc.
A number of other critters such as birds, toads, spiders, some wasp species, centipedes and millipedes prey upon pill bugs to help support their nutritional needs. Pill bugs are important to the ecosystem as they are as decomposers that add to the overall quality of their habitat, as well as the remarkable bodily gymnastics they perform by rolling themselves into small, grey balls.
Call Residential Commercial. Pill Bug Diet Pill bugs, sometimes also referred to as roly-pollies, primarily consume plant matter that is either decaying or is already dead and decomposed. Pill Bug Damage Although pill bugs may infrequently eat garden or other plants around a home, they rarely do so to the extent they cause damage.
They primarily consume dead plants or animals, but they will occasionally eat live plants. In captivity, they will thrive on a diet of raw fruit and vegetable slices. Potatoes, carrots, apples and pears are good choices. Place the slices in the leaf litter and change them every few days, or sooner if the food begins to mold.
Roly-polies breathe via gills; accordingly, they must inhabit areas with high humidity in order to breathe. Roly-polies derive most of their necessary water from the humid air and their food. Mist your captives' enclosure daily with lukewarm bottled water. Spray the leaf litter and cage sides thoroughly, but try not to let puddles develop or saturate the substrate.
Do not provide your roly-polies with a water dish, as it is not necessary and presents a drowning hazard. By using the site, you agree to the uses of cookies and other technology as outlined in our Policy, and to our Terms of Use.
They are more closely related to living organisms such as shrimp, lobsters, and crabs. They are crustaceans that have exoskeletons and hard shells. Unlike their lobster cousins, these critters can easily live on land.
In order to survive, these crustaceans need a moist environment, some dirt or rocks under which to take shelter and, of course, something to eat. Even cardboard boxes! They particularly like to eat organic matter such as rotten fruit, dead plants, and also things like carrot and apples as well as potatoes. They are typically referred to as rolly pollies because they tend to roll up into a tiny ball when they feel threatened. As we have already mentioned, rolly pollies can eat pretty much any organic matter in their path.
Although they are technically not bugs, they have a diet that is similar to that of most bugs. They relish dead vegetation and similar formula foods such as cardboards and fish food flakes. For the most part, they survive on:. They are particularly fond of rotting food that is well on its way to decaying.
If you intend to keep these critters as pets, then make sure that the food is rotten before putting it in their habitat. Although, as much as these critters survive of decaying matter, moldy food poses a danger to their lives.
Strangely enough, rolly pollies cannot safely process moldy food and often die off when exposed to such sources of sustenance. As crustaceans, these critters have gills that allow them to get the water they need from the moisture within their habitat.
That is why open water sources pose a danger to these little buggers. Any open water source is a potential drowning hazard for rolly pollies.
For that reason, rolly pollies do not live in ponds or swimming pools; they live in moist environments such as mulch beds and damp soil. They can typically be found curled up under fallen vegetation, wood, and rocks.
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