Articles > Health magazines > Psychology, Children, and Parenting magazines > Highlights for Children articles > April 1998

Article: The bugs that aren't.(pill bugs)

Article from:
Highlights for Children
Article date:
April 1, 1998
Author:
Copyright

You have probably seen pill bugs. These animals are bean-sized and gray or brownish in color. They are shaped like a jelly bean cut in half lengthwise.

Pill bugs are divided into many segments, which make them look like tiny armadillos. When you touch one of these bugs, it rolls up into a ball that looks like a pill. That's why it's often called a pill bug, even though it isn't really a "bug" at all.

All true bugs are very different animals. They belong to a special group of insects. The pill bug is more closely related to animals like crayfish and brine shrimp. If you have pet fish you may have given them brine shrimp to eat.

The pill bug ...

Read all of this article with a FREE trial

Related newspaper, magazine, and journal articles:

Dictionary definition: pill bug
Webster's NewWorld Dictionary;      140 words ...Webster's NewWorld Dictionary 01-01-1988 pill bug any of various isopods capable of rolling up into a ball, as a common species (Armadillidium vulgare) found in damp places Copyright 1994, 1991, 1988 Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Dictionary definition: pill bugs
A Dictionary of Zoology;      220 words ...pill bugs See ARMADILLIDAE ; ISOPODA .

Article: Going Buggy
The Washington Post;  April 11, 1999 ;     700+ words ... ... example, in that gruesome species the spiny- headed worm. As youngsters they live inside pill bugs, growing until they occupy about half the pill bug's body. They then alter the bug's behavior (yes, really) in ways that make it likely ...

Article: Molting Mania.
Science and Children;  April 1, 2006 ;     700+ words ... ... students' gently placed pill bugs in magnifier boxes to ... observed that one of the pill bugs had turned white. This ... similar to snakes, pill bugs also molt in order to ... observations, we read A Pill Bug's Life (Himmelman

Article: Inquiring About Isopods.
Science and Children;  April 1, 2006 ;     700+ words ... ... Colorful Bunch Do your pill bugs vary in size and ... both adult and young pill bugs. One advantage to ... closely examine a pill bug during one of its ... gently slip under pill bugs when transferring ... the length of their pill bug in millimeters ...

Article: Science Letters.(science questions and answers)(Brief Article)
Highlights for Children;  March 1, 1999 ;     700+ words ... ... Komodo dragons as you did. Pill Bug Munchies How does a pill bug escape from a spider's web ... wrote: "The answer is that pill bugs may never have to get in a ... day or two, but after that pill bugs or insects may discover it ...

Article: Bugs in basement actually crustaceans
The Boston Globe;  May 1, 1994 ;     700+ words ... ... found a whole mess of what I think are pill bugs in my basement. I don't know what they ... Porcellio laevis); the other is the pill bug, and the resemblance to little armadillos ... Latin name is Armadillidium vulgare. The pill bug can roll itself up into a ball; the sow ...

Article: Try a plastic scrubber on pitted aluminum
The Boston Globe;  April 17, 1994 ;     700+ words ... ... found a whole mess of what I think are pill bugs in my basement. I don't know what they ... Porcellio laevis); the other is the pill bug, and the resemblance to little armadillos ... Latin name is Armadillidium vulgare. The pill bug can roll itself up into a ball; the sow ...

 
 
Newsweek Harper's Magazine The Washington Post Chicago Tribune Crain's Chicago Business PRNewswire Pediatric News The Nation Advertising Age The Economist (US) A FREE trial gives you access to over 80 million articles! Access over 6,500 publications with a FREE trial!

Find articles, research, and archives