The various forms of a rollie pollie!
By Kam Yau
Riddle:
Question: What has seven legs, two antennas, and rolls up into a ball?
Answer: A rollie pollie!
A rollie pollie (also spelled roly poly) is one of the many macro-organisms that can exist in a healthy soil or compost medium. Along with other macro-organisms such as beetles, spiders and flies, rollie pollies are an important element of a soil’s natural ecosystem, helping the soil to aerate and organic matter to decompose.
Rollie pollies are also called pillbugs. Although they are called pillbugs, they are not insects but are considered a crustacean of the armadillidiidae family.
How it looks
Similar to shrimp and lobster, rollie pollies have an outer shell called an exoskeleton. Rollie pollies have seven legs, two antennas, and curl up into a ball when it tries to defend itself against predators. When they are not curled up, their length is about one inch. Their color usually ranges from brown to grey if healthy, but on rare occasions, bright blue or purple if sick.
Specifics of the Rollie Pollie
Rollie pollies like to be in wet and dark environments. They can turn up under leaves, mulch, rocks or in your compost device where they are particularly attracted to rotting fruit.
For composters, rollie pollies can be excellent decomposers. They eat decaying plants and vegetation as well as dead insects and animals, thus helping to speed up the decomposition of organic matter in soil and compost. They also return essential nutrients back into the earth.
On the other hand, rollie pollies also eat fresh vegetation and may be a problem if you are a vegetable gardener, and the rollie pollies are eating up live plants and seedlings in your garden. But in general, because rollie pollies cannot consume thick plants, they are rarely a danger to most of your garden vegetables.
Conclusion
Rollie pollies are considered an asset to some, and to others, even a pet (for both kids and adults)! It’s a simple joy to hold a rollie pollie in your hand and watch it curl up into a ball and then gradually unfurl itself when it feels safe again. Just like earthworms, rollie pollies are not picky eaters and are happy to eat whatever kitchen scraps or organic matter you have in your compost. All in all, rollie pollies are fascinating creatures to learn about and great to have in your composting device.