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Bug Blog

Roly Poly Pill Bugs

Roly Poly Pill Bugs

I remember the first time I saw a pill bug when I was a child. Every other kid on the playground was picking up the cute little creatures, and so, despite my lack of enthusiasm for bugs, I had to pick one up too. Without any claws or mandibles, their only defense being to roll up into a ball, these cute insects are often the first introduction a child has to handling bugs. But, despite their simple appearance, they actually have some pretty fascinating aspects.

To start with, pill bugs do not have to “go to the bathroom” like us humans. Waste fluids exit their system in a gas form through small pores in their shells. Wouldn’t that be a handy trick to have during a car ride? And, just to make everything topsy turvy, they can drink water through that tube we would generally use for number one. Literally, everything seems to be upside-down and inside-out for these little guys.

They also happen to be blue-bloods in the truest sense of the word. They’re blood is actually a light blue color. So, just think of that next time you think them beneath your notice. Their blood is bluer than yours no matter who your ancestors were.

Did you play with pill bugs as a child? What kind of experiences did you have?

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