A Missouri molecular plant biologist from Chesterfield, Missouri, Thomas “Tom” Brutnell is a consultant with Viridis Genomics Consulting, a firm that advises institutions and startups on genomics and genome engineering. In his free time, Tom Brutnell enjoys exploring nature with his kids.

One recent project was constructing a terrarium for the kids to watch pill bugs. A pillbug (Armadillidium vulgare) has many names including woodlouse, roly poly or isopod and are small crustaceans. This means they are more closely related to lobsters than beetles – a fun fact! There are over 10,000 species of isopods which come in many shapes, sizes and colors. Of these about 5,000 are found on land. The most common isopods in Missouri are usually brown or grey and can be found under logs near streams or under decaying leaf matter. As crustaceans they have gills that they must keep moist to breath; one of the reasons they are found in damp areas and are nocturnal.

They are also great pets for little kids who can hold them and watch them curl up into a little ball. And don’t worry, they don’t bite. They are happy in a glass jar with some soil, moss, decaying leaves and no need for a lid (they do need to breath oxygen after all!) as they are not great at climbing up glass. A few spritzes of water to keep the moss moist (but not soaked) will enable your roly-polies to thrive.