Roly polies, also known as pill bugs or woodlice, are common inhabitants of gardens and damp environments, often found under rocks, logs, or leaf litter. These creatures are not insects but terrestrial crustaceans, more closely related to shrimp and crabs. They are unique as the only crustaceans fully adapted to living on land. Their dietary habits provide insight into their ecological role.
Their Main Diet
Roly polies primarily function as detritivores, consuming decaying organic matter. This includes dead leaves, rotting wood, and fallen fruit. They prefer soft, moist material, making damp vegetation ideal foraging grounds. Roly polies also feed on fungi, algae, and occasionally dead insects or other decaying animal matter. This broad diet highlights their role as nature’s clean-up crew.
In gardens, they consume items like grass clippings, twigs, and dead weeds. Pet roly polies can be fed fresh fruits and vegetables such as carrots, lettuce, apple skins, or oatmeal. Bacteria within their digestive systems help break down organic matter, converting it into mineral content that enriches the soil.
What They Avoid or Don’t Eat
Roly polies generally do not consume healthy, live plant foliage, distinguishing them from many common garden pests. They avoid hard, woody plant material, preferring softer, decaying matter. While not a significant threat to robust garden plants, they might occasionally feed on stressed, weakened, or already decaying plant parts. In situations of high population density or limited food, they might turn to tender seedlings or ripe fruits in contact with the soil, though this is a secondary preference. They also avoid strong chemicals, focusing their diet on natural decomposing materials.
Why Their Diet Matters
The diet of roly polies is important for their ecological role as decomposers. By consuming decaying organic matter, they initiate its breakdown into simpler components. This process returns nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium to the soil, making them available for new plant growth. Their activity contributes to a healthy and balanced soil environment.
Roly polies also play a role in managing heavy metal contamination in soil. They can ingest and crystallize heavy metals such as copper, zinc, and lead within their bodies, which helps remove these toxins from the environment. This ability allows them to thrive in contaminated areas where other species might struggle, demonstrating their beneficial impact.