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Murrmurr said:
Hello, my name is Frank. I live alone. No pets, but thinking of getting fish or a hamster or something. I have bugs. Isopods (roly-polies), maybe 40 or 50, I'm nor sure, but they're not very playful and not as interesting as I thought they'd be. Can't remember why I thought that, but anyway, they live in a plastic container with a blue lid that's currently sitting on a chest of drawers in my kitchen. They like to eat fish food. That's why I was thinking I might get some fish. Two birds, one stone kind of a deal.

Anyway, hello. My name is Frank.
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Welcome Frank, where I'm from they call they sow bugs.
 
Phoenix said:
Welcome Frank, where I'm from they call they sow bugs.
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Both are isopods but, although similar in appearance, pill bugs (armadillidium sp.) can roll up into a ball while sow bugs (oniscus sp.) cannot.

(I'm betting a lot of folks are just thrilled to learn that! :ROFLMAO:)
 

Kaila said:
Hi, Frank. Wanted to say Welcome.

So, those bugs are some sort of miniature armadillo. That's interesting. :sneaky:
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They are actually crustaceans, but yeah, their bodies are multi-segmented armor that look like an armadillo, and some of them are named after the armadillo. Others are called Dairy Cow, White Dwarf, Rubber Ducky, a whole slew of other names and new ones all the time because people cross-breed them for certain characteristics, like color and activity. Mine are not very active. Well, not as far as I can see. They procreate a lot, so they're plenty active with each other all right. Locally, they're called roly-polies, because, like an armadillo, they curl into a ball when threatened, or sleeping, or full. Most the time they're rolled in a ball. I made the roly-poly house for my foster kid but he lives with his mom now so I should put them back where I got them but I'm not ready yet.
 
@Murrmurr
Thanks for adding to your topic, here. I truly find it interesting. Insects are fascinating creatures.

I enjoyed reading your additional posts, today, and the response to my comparison with armadillo's. I remember the name "roly-poly" ....


Most people I have met , were not as fascinated by them, as myself. :ROFLMAO:
 
Kaila said:
@Murrmurr
Thanks for adding to your topic, here. I truly find it interesting. Insects are fascinating creatures.

I enjoyed reading your post, today, and the response to my comparison with armadillo's. I remember the name "roly-poly" ....


Most people I have met , were not as fascinated by them, as myself. :ROFLMAO:
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Yeah, I wouldn't really call them fascinating to *watch*, not these ones, anyway, but bugs in general are very interesting. I guess the fascinating part is that they seem to have life all figured out and a lot of them don't even have (what we think of as) a brain. I figured out a long time ago that bugs don't look the same to, say, a bird as they do to us, and science is catching up with me on that. What looks like a solid black beetle to us probably has a bright color spot somewhere that a bird's eye can see. I also suspected a lot of them use chemicals to leave color trails or waft scents to find each other, and to be found by predators. And some do, of course.
 


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