Ever wondered how a Rolly Polly has babies?

Having young inquisitive children at home really shows me on a daily basis how much I don't know.

I had never given much thought to the childbearing methods of pill bugs until about a week ago.

The children were playing in the backyard with their favorite next door neighbors when suddenly I heard Drew screaming as he raced towards the door.

"Mom! Mom!! Hurry . . . I need a jar!!"

He then proceeded to tell me that they were holding a Pill Bug when suddenly it had babies. I was like, "What? Pill Bugs don't have babies. They lay eggs!"

"No. Mom. Look!" Then I looked at his hands which were covered with little tiny white bugs.

"Whoa!" I was wondering how they managed to come upon the nest of eggs hatching at just the right moment. But Drew insisted that the Pill Bug had her babies right in his hand.

All four kids had their hands covered with these little bugs. Although Drew wanted to keep the little creatures I explained that if any of them had a chance of living they needed to be out in the moist soil. Then I did two very necessary things.

1. I took pictures. How often do you get to see a Pill Bug have babies? Did you know they were white?

2. I went straight to my friend "Google" to find out just how Pill Bugs DO have babies.

What did I find out?

Like crabs and other crustaceans, pillbugs tote their eggs around with them in a pouch called a marsupium.  Upon hatching, the tiny pillbugs remain in the pouch for several days before leaving to explore the world on their own.

When it's time for a Pill Bug to have her babies her belly literally bursts open and the babies come out. How cool is it that the kids just happened to be holding a little Rolly Polly when that happened? Pretty cool.

If I didn't have kids I would have lived my life forever thinking that pill bugs were insects!