Amazing Armadillidiidae

Roly Poly Bugs!

I've been giving chronologies for a a couple of weeks now on the build-out that's happening at my office. It's been quite the production on all scales; walls have been constructed, desks have been moved, dust has blanketed everything, and all kinds of little crawly critters have

their way into the office.

I spotted one of these little ones scuttling across the floor today and I stopped to carry it back outside. Of course I've seen these a thousand times over, but never really looked into them - what they are or why or how they roll up when they're threatened. I immediately called it a Roly Poly Bug, but wondered aloud if that's what they were really called. Everyone in my office also calls them that.

I'm a person easily intrigued, so naturally I made a note to research this once I got home.
I'm home.
Here's what I found:

armadillidiidae, aka roly polies, aka pill bugs, aka woodlice.
photog | drew mackie

A lot of people have speculated on these things for a long time. I'm new to the party.

Guess I'll start with facts I found*: 

rollers vs. hikers
photog | calev

1. Roly polies, also commonly known as pill bugs, are not actually bugs [insects]. They are terrestrial crustaceans more closely related to lobsters and crabs than insects. 

2. They came from Europe, originally. The alias Roly Poly was originally a European coining. Erego, we are being quite the accidentally cultured folk when we call them that ;). Hehe. 

3. They don't bite - not people at least. They're harmless to humans and animals but play a very substantial role in the biological decomp process of dead plants & wood, earning their other alias, Woodlice, which I don't prefer due to the stigma associated with the word lice. Be nice, they're not gonna eat you :). 

4. They grow by a 2-part molting process. Rolies have an exoskeleton, so during molting, they crawl out of the back half of the exoskeleton first, then the front half. Imagine if we grew that way? Whoa. 

5. Not all roly polies actually roll when threatened. Some choose to run instead of roll, separating them into the category of hikers. There are rolling pill bugs and hiking pill bugs. Hrmm...

* I consulted quite a few sources for this info: 
- Case study via Harvard University, developed by Harry Dilner of Christiana HS, Delaware
- Wikipedia
- Drew Mackie, New Zealand [fellow blogbot!]
- Macro credit: Calev Photography

smile :) | photog: calev

So anyway, thanks for the prompting, little guy [or girl]. < Oh, and on that gender thing, apparently pill bugs can be determined male or female by their bellies: females are pale underneath, males are dark. On this particular occasion today, I really didn't think to check. Not important anyway. I named the little thing Axel, and Axel went outside into the grass. My apologies, if I'd mis-gendered you, little pill bug. :) 

See? It's basic info, practical and easily-available knowledge, but not commonly known, nonetheless. :) Yay, for research!

xo | cmd

Prunis dulcis: Mini Exposé

Prunis dulcis?

[whaaat?]

codename
the almond

.: Hello, beautiful little thing!

It's not a secret that I'm a bit concientious of both my and my family's dietary habits. I'm a huge proponent of eating things as fresh as they can be, and I love everything about [truly] organic-based products, be they edible or not.



wonderful, indeed!



One of my favorite little snack buddies is the almond. I love everything about almonds. They're portable, they're virtually crumbless, and they usually have just enough texture to satisfy all regions of my midday taste pallet. I've always known they were good for the body, but I hadn't really bothered to do much digging into the hows come? of it all...

... 'til now.

Here it is, folks. Pass it on.

For starters, almonds grow on trees. It might seem like they should grow on a small plant or stalk, but no. Trees. Botanically speaking, they're actually considered drupes, not nuts. From what's most known of them, they started somewhere in the Mediterranean regions and with the help of human hands, spread their way out into the world. As of 2009, the United States was listed as the top-producing country for almonds, with 1,162,200 tons. That was a slight 880,100 more than Spain, the second highest producer. Here in the U.S., California is the metropolis for almond production.

As with any raw food, there's a much wider range of naturally-occurring almonds than most of us care to consider; they come in different colors, sizes, shapes, and even levels of tartness. There's not much that can't be fashioned out of almonds; their culinary capacity ranges from the raw form all the way to liquid [almond milk]. I personally am a huge fan of almond milk, almond butter, and especially just the original, plain ole' almond. :) Did I mention they're jam-packed with nutrients? Well, they are. Go check 'em out for yourself if you don't believe me!

If you feel like taking me up on that offer, or if you're just curious like I am at times, Wikipedia did a pretty good job on this one [kudos, Wiki!], and there are plenty of other references. 

So bring it on, Prunis dulcis. Nom Nom Nom.....  ;) 

xo | cmd