Pill bug

Description: Adults grow to about 3/8 inch long, have a number of rounded body segments and seven pairs of legs. Sow bugs possess a pair of tail-like structures on the back end of the body. Pill bugs do not have these structures and are capable of rolling into a tight ball when disturbed, a behavior that resulted in their common name, "roly-polies."

Life Cycle: Females lay eggs that they carry in a pouch underneath the body. Eggs hatch into young sow bugs and pill bugs that resemble adults but are smaller. They remain in the pouch up to 2 months after hatching. Development to adults occurs in about a year and they breed mainly in the spring. They may live up to 3 years. Up to three broods may be produced annually.

Habitat, Food Source(s), Damage: Mouthparts are for chewing and rasping. Sow bugs and pill bugs spend bright daylight hours in damp dark habitats such as underneath stones, logs, leaf litter and other debris. At night they venture out and feed on decomposing organic material, including mulch and grass clippings. They will feed on the tender foliage, stems and roots of young garden vegetable transplants, seedlings and bedding plants. They also rasp the outer skin of cucumbers laying on the ground in gardens, causing fruit to be deformed and blemished.