That’s right, it’s spring(ish) when a young man’s fancy to thoughts of bugs. Yes, it’s a magical time, a time when my children delight in playing in the yard, in riding their bikes up and down the street, and in pulling up my paving stones and the rock edges of my flower beds, leaving them strewn haphazardly about the yard, and finding potato bugs.
When I was a kid (yes, back before the earth’s crust had cooled) we called them roly-polies. I’m not sure if the difference is a location thing (I grew up in Virginia) or a timing issue but I looked them up (what would I do without google and wikipedia?) and found out that they’re actually woodlice.
Let me tell you how stoked I am to have my children bringing lice of any kind into my home.
Not very.
Actually I’m not sure if they’re technically woodlice or pill millipedes, having not checked whether they have two sets of legs per body segment (millipede) or just one (woodlouse). Now that I think about it, given the sheer volume of discovered, and captured, insect life, we probably have both. We also have worms.
Now, I’m not particularly squeamish, although now that I’ve put the woodlice name on the potato bugs I find that I like them a lot less (a woodlouse by any other name…) but I did finally have to banish the bugs, the “new pets,” outside (as I would any real pet) when I caught the kids taking them out of the jar and letting them crawl up their arms.
And dropping them.
I don’t really need them crawling around my living room.
On a completely unrelated note The Princess today informed the Pea that Hannah Montana was the “most famous pop-star.” Oy vey.
We called them roly-polies when I was a kid, too, but from the ages of your kids I’m guessing I may be even earth crustier than you are.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting on my blog. Come back any time. I’ve had fun reading through a few of your posts, and I’ll be sure to come back and check out some more later. Keep writing!
I am not a bug in the house kind of mom so I would definitely have banished them outside also.
I grew up in Idaho and we called them roly-polies too, so I don’t think it’s a regional thing. My daughter calls them roly-polies too, but that’s probably my influence.
Thanks for stopping by my blog and sharing. I feel better just hearing other people’s stories.