Roly Poly

Roly pollies are everywhere in my raised vegetable beds. The ground twists and churns with them. But are they a friend or foe in the eternal garden battle of who eats what? A recent night offered some evidence that the adorable Armadillidium vulgare was the enjoying  my vegetables.

 Research on the internet offered suggested that's possible but unlikely.  Armadillidium vulgare is not an insect but rather a crustacean and breathes through its gills which is why it most often found in moist conditions. Their nocturnal and they eat "fungi, decaying plant matter as well as young plant growth, and sometimes dead animal matter."They have predators including ants which have recently moved into one the beds. They are definitely munching on my seedlings but the question is are they taking the big bites or nibbling on what others left? Almost an entire bed that I had planted with brassicas, and chard before Thanksgiving was devoured to the stem by something while I was gone. There are other suspects I have found several caterpillars, and a twostriped walking stick Anisomorpha buprestoides or as it's also known a Devil's Riding Horse. In the defense of the Devil's Riding Horse I didn't see it eating anything.