Pill bugs, also known as "rollie pollies," are terrestrial crustaceans belonging to the woodlice family, Armadillidiidae, in the order Isopoda. These creatures are famous for their ability to curl into a ball when threatened, a behavior called conglobation. This article explores the diet of these fascinating creatures, covering what they eat in the wild, as pets, and as babies, as well as their unique feeding habits and impact on the environment.
What are Rollie Pollies?
Rollie pollies can be called any of the names I stated in the first paragraph, and all are proper, but it’s easy to see where they got their most commonly called name rolly polly because of how they roll into a ball to protect themselves when confronted by danger. Pill bugs are easily identified by their back, which is made up of seven hard individual plates. While they originally hail from Europe, you can now also find them throughout the Americas. Despite being called bugs, rollie pollies are not insects but crustaceans, closely related to shrimp.
The Natural Diet of Rollie Pollies
Rollie pollies are detritivores, meaning they primarily feed on decaying organic matter. Their diet largely consists of decaying or decomposed plant matter such as leaves and, to a lesser extent, wood fibers. In the wild, they play a crucial role in ecosystems by breaking down organic material and returning essential nutrients to the soil.
Plant Matter
The diet of rollie pollies in their natural habitat includes:
- Dead Leaves: A staple food source for rollie pollies, providing essential nutrients as they decompose.
- Decaying Wood: While not as preferred as leaves, wood fibers contribute to their diet, especially in environments with abundant decaying wood.
- Stems, Shoots, Roots, and Tubers: Rollie pollies consume these parts of dying or dead plants, contributing to the decomposition process.
- Grasses, Twigs, Bushes, and Weeds: These are common components of their diet, especially when they are in a state of decay.
- Domesticated Vegetables: Rollie pollies also eat domesticated vegetables, particularly when they are spoiled or rotting.
- Fruits: They enjoy fruit, particularly spoiled or rotting fruit.
Animal Matter
In addition to plant matter, rollie pollies sometimes consume animal-based foods:
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- Decaying Animal Flesh: Some species are known to eat decaying animal flesh or carrion, supplementing their diet with protein.
- Shed Snakeskin and Dead Bugs: Rollie pollies will consume these if necessary, recycling organic material from various sources.
- Animal Feces: Pill bugs do have some rather peculiar feeding habits since they are known to eat their own feces, as well as feces from other animals. They also munch on scat, including their own.
Rollie Pollies as Pests
While rollie pollies are generally beneficial to the environment, they can become pests in certain agricultural systems. They are attracted to decaying plant matter, which often leads them to crop residue on farms.
Agricultural Damage
Rollie pollies can cause problems in agriculture by:
- Eating Emerging Seedlings: They may start eating emerging seedlings, hindering crop growth.
- Destroying Seed Oil and Soybean Crops: Increased rates of pill bugs destroying seed oil and soybean crops have been reported in the United States and Argentina.
- Feeding on Crop Plants: They feed on numerous crop plants including corn, beans, squash, peas, melon, chard, beet, cucumber, potato, spinach, lettuce, and strawberry, with potential for significant yield loss in strawberry in particular.
Structural Damage
Rollie pollies have also been observed eating wood supports in houses, making them a house pest.
Rollie Pollies as Pets
Thanks to their easy maintenance and charm, some people keep rolly pollies as pets. Rolly pollies in captivity can survive on a diet of raw fruits and vegetables.
Diet for Captive Rollie Pollies
A pet rollie polly will thrive on a diet of raw fruits and vegetables, especially when these foods are slightly older. Safe foods include:
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- Peels from Potatoes, Carrots, Apples, and Pears: These provide essential nutrients and are readily accepted by rollie pollies.
- Fresh Fruits and Vegetables: A petowner could fatten up the bug with fresh fruits and vegetables, such as carrots, lettuce or even apples skins. The bugs can also eat the skin of zucchinis and potatoes.
- Oatmeal: Oatmeal is also an edible option for them.
- Crumpled Egg Cartons and Cardboard: Crumpled egg cartons, in addition to cardboard, are also safe for them to eat, as long as there is no print on the material.
Additional Care
- Moisture: Mist the air around the cage and the floor substrate daily, as roly polys need moisture to breathe through their gills.
- Food Quantity: Give them 1-2 oz of food two or three times a week, and make sure to switch up the food you give them to prevent any vitamin deficiencies.
- Water: Roly polys obtain their moisture from the food they eat, so they do not need a water bowl.
The Diet of Baby Rollie Pollies
Baby rollie pollies, upon hatching, look just like their adult counterparts, only smaller. They stay with their mothers for about two months and take around a year to reach maturity.
What Baby Rollie Pollies Eat
During their early stages, baby rollie pollies consume similar foods to adults:
- Soft Plants: Soft plants make up the bulk of a baby rollie pollies diet.
- Animal Feces and Carrion: They also consume animal feces and carrion.
- Fruit and Vegetable Peelings: If you raise a baby rolly polly, you can feed it peelings from fruits as vegetables, as well as clippings and leaves from your lawn.
How Rollie Pollies Find Food
Rollie pollies have unique sensory mechanisms to locate food:
- Sense of Smell: Rolly pollies mostly rely on their sense of smell. Tiny hairs on their antennae and mouth help them to detect scents and locate food.
- Vibrations: Although they cannot hear, they are able to sense vibrations using their antennae, which helps them avoid threats while foraging.
Unique Feeding Habits
Rollie pollies exhibit some interesting feeding behaviors:
- Coprophagy: Rollie pollies need copper to live, and each time the bugs defecate, they lose a little of it-hence the recycling process. This practice is called coprophagy.
- Decomposers: They consume material from dead plants and animals and return essential nutrients back into the earth.
Environmental Impact
Rollie pollies play a significant role in maintaining healthy ecosystems:
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- Decomposition: They help break down organic matter, accelerating the decomposition process.
- Nutrient Cycling: By consuming and excreting organic material, they facilitate the cycling of essential nutrients in the soil.
- Soil Health: Their feeding habits contribute to balancing the carbon content in the soil and retaining organic material.
Rollie Pollie Habitats
Rollie pollies are commonly found in:
- Wooded Areas: They tend to make their homes in wooded areas, particularly where there are plenty of damp leaves and other decaying vegetation, where food can easily be found.
- Moist Environments: Pill bugs typically enter buildings through door thresholds, especially homes with sliding-glass doors on the ground level. Chances are that, if you spot a pill bug in your home, there is likely a large population living right outdoors. Homeowners can prevent future pill bug infestations by eliminating moist sites in and around the home as well as food sources such as vegetable or plant debris.