LIFE SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -For composters, rollie pollies can be excellent decomposers. They eat decaying plants and vegetation as well as dead insects and animals, thus helping to speed up the decomposition of organic matter in soil and compost. They also return essential nutrients back into the earth.

Detailed explanation-2: -Pillbugs and sowbugs break down decaying organic material by eating it with their chewing mouthparts, then they return nutrients to the soil in their feces. They are sensitive to changes in their environment and can be used to help indicate the health of an ecosystem.

Detailed explanation-3: -Pill bugs clean up soil and protect ground water from heavy metal contamination. One very unique quality that these crustaceans possess is their ability to safely remove heavy metals from soil. For this reason, they are an important tool for cleaning up soil contaminated with pollutants like lead, cadmium and arsenic.

Detailed explanation-4: -Like bees, rollie pollie numbers had evidently dwindled, and whether by age or something else, encounters with these critters became more infrequent.