pill bug (redirected from pill bugs)

pill bug

n. In both senses also called slater, wood louse; also called regionally doodlebug.

1. A small terrestrial isopod crustacean of the genus Armadillidium closely related to the sow bug and having a convex, segmented, flexible body enabling it to curl into a ball when disturbed. In this sense also called roly-poly.

2. A sow bug.

Usage Note: Many people, especially science teachers, like to make a distinction between pill bugs and sow bugs. According to this usage, a pill bug, or roly-poly, is a terrestrial isopod crustacean whose segmented body gives it the ability to curl up into a ball when disturbed. A sow bug is any of several similar looking creatures that lack this ability. In popular usage, however, the names pill bug and sow bug, along with a number of other popular names, are used to refer to any of these tiny segmented crustaceans that are often mistaken for insects.

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pill bug

n

(Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Animals) any of various woodlice of the genera Armadillidium and Oniscus, capable of rolling up into a ball when disturbed

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

pill bug - small terrestrial isopod with a convex segmented body that can roll up into a ball slater, woodlouse - any of various small terrestrial isopods having a flat elliptical segmented body; found in damp habitats Armadillidium, genus Armadillidium - type genus of the Armadillidiidae