Buzz
You probably spent a good amount of your childhood interacting with woodlice or pill millipedes. Despite their similar appearance, these are actually two separate creatures that evolved independently. When faced with danger, pill millipedes can curl up into a tight ball for protection, which is why they're often called roly-polies or pillbugs. Woodlice are among the few crustaceans that have adapted to land life, and they're found in various parts of the world.
To keep things simple, we'll group these two frequently confused creatures together and present a list of the most popular regional names. This list is far from complete, as many of these names appear in multiple regions, even across continents. Let us know in the comments what you call them and where you're from. And please, we hope you haven’t ever eaten them.
1. Cheesy-bugs or Cheeselogs (England)
2. Slaters (Scotland, New Zealand, and Australia)
3. Gramersows or Gramfers (Cornwall, England)
4. Butchy Boys (Australia)
5. Boat-builders (Newfoundland, Canada)
6. Chisel Bobs (England)
7. Woodpigs or Timberpigs (England)
8. Monkey Peas or Peaballs (England)
9. Pishamares (England)
10. Potato Bugs or Tomato Bugs (United States)
11. Sow Bugs (United States and Canada)
12. Chuggie Pigs, Chuggy-Pegs, or Chucky Pigs (England)
13. Crunchy Bats (England)
14. Wood Bugs (Western Canada)
15. Pill Bugs or Roly-Polies (United States)
16. Carpenters (Eastern Canada)
17. Granny Greys (Wales)
18. Billy Buttons (England)
19. Doodle Bugs (United States)
20. Parson Pigs (Isle of Man)
This article was inspired by @MooseAllain; for additional details, visit this blog post.
