No matter what you called them as a child, I'm sure you were fascinated by them. I know for myself, they were a staple of my childhood such that they are now a symbol of a time where a smooth, rigid, black shell could sustain my attention for an indescribable period of time. And now that I forgot their existence for so long, when children show them to me, I rediscover their mysterious charm and am taken back to that place where simplicity reigns.
Here a snippit from an article I found about them:
1. Pillbugs are crustaceans, not insects.
2. Pillbugs breathe through gills.
3. A juvenile pillbug molts in two sections.
4. Pillbug mothers carry their eggs in a pouch.
5. Pillbugs don't urinate.
6. A pillbug can drink with its anus.
7. Pillbugs curl into tight balls when threatened.
8. Pillbugs eat their own poop.
9. Sick pillbugs turn bright blue.
10. A pillbug's blood is blue.
(Explanations are at http://insects.about.com/od/isopods/a/10-facts-pillbugs.htm)
Crazy, right?! You say their scientific name, armadillidiidae, like "armadillo day" except you swap the "o" for a "lid" and a "eeeee" ("arm-ah-dill-liddy-day"). Totally justifies this song I found about them (the actual song starts at 1:00)
And I'm totally building a terrarium for them and keeping some (my mom never let me have small pets in my room... but that might be because I only asked for snakes, rats, and hermit crabs).
