Mary Jo DiLonardo has worked in print, online, and broadcast journalism for 25 years and covers nature, health, science, and animals. The roly-poly, or pill bug, is a terrestrial crustacean that looks ...

Pill bugs are common but unique creatures that are found throughout the world, including the U.S. They’re also known as rolly pollies because of their tendency to curl up into a ball when they’re ...

Q. Can you please tell me what my hungry visitors are? I counted six on my plant. I don’t want to pick them off if they are beneficial. Those caterpillars are from the white-lined sphinx moth, a ...

You’ve probably seen these little fourteen-legged chimeras at some point, though you may not have paid them any mind since you were a kid. Part shrimp, part kangaroo, and part armadillo, the ...

When I was a kid, my friends and I spent long summer days outdoors, picking daisies, observing roly-poly (also known as pill) bugs, holding caterpillars and trying to catch fireflies (lightning bugs).

With winter rains, Bay Area pill bugs are out in force. Fortunately, they’re one of our most beloved “bugs.” Pill bugs. Doodle bugs. Potato bugs. Wood Shrimp. Whatever you call them, there’s something ...