The amazing, fascinating Pill Bug!!

PILL BUGS

Today I found my first pill bug of the spring. I held it in the palm of my hand and, when it relaxed, it uncurled its body. What a fascinating, delightful creature.
I have kept and studied pill bugs often - and very successfully - in classrooms and workshops.

Here's some pill bug background detail:

• The pill bug is also called a wood louse and a roly-poly because it protects itself by rolling into a ball.
• Pill bugs live in large groups under rocks and dead leaves where it's moist and dark.
• Pill bugs eat very small pieces of decaying wood and dead leaves.
• But, don't be scared - they do NOT bite!
• Pill bugs are eaten by many animals, especially birds. 
• The pill bug is not an insect but is an ISOPOD.
• The pill bug begins life as a tiny egg and quickly grows into an adult.
•  It’s less than an inch long when fully grown and it’s covered by a hard exoskeleton.
• There are three parts to its body: the head, the thorax, and the abdomen.
•  The pill bug has 7 pairs of legs and 2 pairs of antennae.
•  It breathes through gill-like structures.  

IT’S A WONDERFUL CREATURE, and ideal for study.

This is the science journal I use with young children when studying the pill bug:

I’m a SCIENTIST!!

And I’m looking for pill bugs!

PICTURE of the PILL BUG Scientist 

This is me!

My name is…………………………………………………..

And I’m in grade………………………………………

Today’s date is…………………………………….

This is what I need today:

• A magnifying glass
• A plastic spoon
• A paintbrush
• A small container
• A home for the pill bugs if I decide to keep some to study for a short time

Don’t worry!

When I search for pill bugs I know it’s safe because they are vegetarian  (that means they eat plants) and won’t bite me!

I’m going to be very careful and I will put back what I turn over and leave everything just the way I found it.

This is what a pill bug looks like:

Some pill bugs roll up into little balls when you touch them.

They are called ROLY-POLYS.

Some keep on walking when you touch them.

They are called WALKERS.

I’m going to look for both kinds.

I’ll look outside in the yard. I’ll look in damp, shaded places, and in the dead leaves.

When I find some pill bugs, I will carefully scoop them up in a plastic spoon and gently put them into a small container.

I’ll bring some pill bugs back inside and look more closely at them. 

And I’ll take good care of them.

I’ll take out one pill bug and hold it gently in my hand. Then, like a scientist, I’ll examine it.

I’ll use my magnifying glass and look very closely at its body. 
First, I'll find out:

• Where are its eyes?
• How many legs does it have?
• Does it have four antennae or two?
• Is it a roly-poly or a walker?
• I wonder how fast my pill bug can walk?  

Here’s my experiment to find out.

I’ll place my pill bug in the middle of this chart – then I’ll see how many squares my pill bug moves over in five seconds:

Here’s the answer to my science question:

My pillbug walked………..squares in 5 seconds.

Some more pill bug science research questions I can investigate:

Where does the pill bug usually live?

What’s special about its home?

A pill bug is also called………

Is a pill bug an insect?

Does it have a skeleton?

How many body parts are there?

How many body segments?

What are the antennae used for?

How does it breathe?

How long does it live?

Here’s what I found out:

OK, I have studied my pill bug and I’m going to take it back to where I found it.

If I wanted to keep it for a couple of days so I could observe it even more,

I’d keep it in a plastic tank that has soil and dead leaves on the bottom.

I’ll make small air holes in the lid, keep the tank moist, and place it out of the sunlight.

** I won’t forget to take my pill bug to the yard when my science research is completed.

What shall I study next?

When I was searching for pill bugs, I found some other small creatures.

Here’s a drawing of one of them:

Here's what I found out about this creature: