Baby Rolly-Pollie's, Oh My!

It all started back in October when our family went on vacation in California. While visiting My Honey's parent's home, the boys spent time doing one of their favorite things to do at Grama and Grampa's house. They search for rolly pollie's, also known as pill bugs, sow bugs, etc. We always called them pill bugs when I was growing up but somehow they have come to be known as rolly pollie's in our household. But I digress. Rolly pollie's are not to be found in the Mohave Desert of Arizona, so the boys are quite thrilled with them when we visit California. Normally they are able to find quite a few but, during this trip, they seemed to be sparse. Little Man gave up after a short search but Muffin Man continued on his quest. He ended up with six of the little critters and promptly informed me that he planned to bring them home with him. Being that our visit with Grama and Grampa was the start of our vacation, and the idea of lugging around bugs that would most likely die did not appeal to me, I tried to persuade him to let them go. He was quite persistent, and knowing how passionate he is about bugs, I finally relented. I made a trip to the local Target to pick up a few things I needed and while there I searched for some sort of a small bug box. Apparently bug boxes are a seasonal item and there were none to be had. I ended up buying a plastic travel soap box which was small and had air holes already drilled into it. Perfect!

That night at the hotel I spent a bit of time on My Honey's laptop researching rolly polly bugs, what they eat and how to keep them as pets. It turns out that rolly pollie's need high humidity. That would explain their absence in Arizona. The website informed me that if I put a bit of soil and dead leaf matter, a damp paper towel, and some potato or apple chunks in with the rolly pollie's, they would be as happy as pigs in manure. I followed the instructions exactly and pretty much forgot about them for the rest of our trip. I was aware that Muffin Man had the container and would occasionally open it and check on his bugs. I also noted that it spent time on the floor of the car, upside down, for at least a portion of the trip. But somehow, despite substandard care, all 6 little critters made it home to Arizona safe and sound.

Once home, I transferred them to a larger plastic container made of transparent plastic. I gave them a few small, flat rocks to hide under and some fresh soil. They have been sitting by the kitchen window ever since. I occasionally throw in a new piece of potato or spritz the dirt to keep it moist and Muffin Man occasionally spends time looking at them but other than that, they are pretty much ignored. Their home has transformed itself into a mini terrarium, as at least two of the potato pieces have sprouted. The roots have taken over the soil, creating perfect places for the rolly pollie's to hide and tunnel.

A few weeks back I spent a bit of time searching through the soil and roots to see how many of the little critters were still alive. I was amazed to find that all six were still active and seemed to be thriving. This evening, while spritzing the soil, I moved one of the rocks and discovered a teeny, tiny, baby, rolly polly!! It was small enough to fit on the head of a pin and almost transparent. I was so amazed. I spent a few more moments looking through the container and sure enough, there are at least a couple babies in there. I cannot wait to show Muffin Man tomorrow morning. I know he will be thrilled. I am excited to see how long we can keep these little guys alive and to discover how quickly they grow and reproduce. As shown by past posts here on my blog, we love to study the life cycle's of insects and here we find ourselves with yet another study and it wasn't even planned. How awesome is that?

So, anyway, I just had to share. I thought it was really cool that our little rolly pollie's have reproduced. How very cool it is to see all of God's creatures, great and small, as they live out their lives. How awesome it is to be able to study the things that we find most interesting. In Muffin Man's case, it is insects. My budding entomologist. How happy I am that I relented and allowed him to bring them home with us from California. Even the smallest and oddest of situations become huge opportunities for learning.