Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of I Heart Radio, Hey
Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren Vogel bomb Here potato bugs, pillbugs, doodle bugs,
Speaker 1: roly polly's. They looked like a gray shrimp crossed with
Speaker 1: an armadillo, and they seem to have a different name
Speaker 1: everywhere they're found, though the scientific name for these armor
Speaker 1: plated little creatures is Arma delitrium vulgaria. With twelve known
Speaker 1: varieties of roly polly bugs found in the United States alone,
Speaker 1: these tiny gray crustaceans inhabit the northern and central parts
Speaker 1: of the country, as well as many dark, damp places
Speaker 1: across the world. And yes, they aren't insects, but crustaceans
Speaker 1: like crab and lobster. They're the only crustaceans that have
Speaker 1: adapted to living completely on land, though, like there're other
Speaker 1: crustacean cousins, they breathe through gills, so they have to
Speaker 1: keep to areas with plenty of rain or ground water,
Speaker 1: and even then preferred damp spaces where the sun can't
Speaker 1: dry them out. And all. You may not love having
Speaker 1: a cool dozen of these little critters pop out when
Speaker 1: you move a flower potter check a crawl space. They
Speaker 1: don't bite, sting, or carry disease, and there is a
Speaker 1: very real benefit to having them in your backyard garden.
Speaker 1: It all starts with the microbes within the confines of
Speaker 1: the roly polys innerds. These microscopic gut flora and fauna
Speaker 1: help roly poles break down dead organic matter. Roly Pollies
Speaker 1: are detritivores, meaning they get their nutrients by eating stuff
Speaker 1: that other plants and animals leave behind decomposing plants, dead animals,
Speaker 1: and poop. Scientists have shown the benefits of the roly
Speaker 1: polis diet on soil. They positively affect the ecosystem that
Speaker 1: they're in by increasing the mineral content of the soil,
Speaker 1: essentially turning the waste they eat into healthy soil. But
Speaker 1: it's not just what roly poly bugs add to the soil,
Speaker 1: it's what they take out too. It turns out that
Speaker 1: these guys don't mind heavy metals. After studying the comp
Speaker 1: vision of their insides, scientists found that roly poly bugs
Speaker 1: can crystallize stuff like lead, cappium, and arsenic in their guts,
Speaker 1: both preventing these toxic materials from harming themselves and taking
Speaker 1: them out of the environment, meaning a construction site contaminated
Speaker 1: with heavy metals could effectively be cleaned by a bunch
Speaker 1: of hungry roly poly bugs. Roly Polls will eat tender
Speaker 1: plant shoots if there's nothing else available, but it's not
Speaker 1: their preferred diet, and these bugs will also eat the
Speaker 1: eggs of some insects that are more inclined to eat
Speaker 1: gardens and crops, so they can be a great form
Speaker 1: of pest control and are sometimes used in organic farming.
Speaker 1: So if you are noticing a roly poly party taking
Speaker 1: place in your backyard, don't worry. These little guys are
Speaker 1: doing a lot of the heavy lifting involved in creating
Speaker 1: the healthy soil that will help your garden thrive. Today's
Speaker 1: episode was written by Jeremy Glass and produced by Tyler Clang.
Speaker 1: For more this and lots of other curious topics, visit
Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com. Brainstuff is a production of
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