Vincent Holt, author of the Victorian-era tome Why Not Eat Insects, had strong opinions on his picks for dinner. He balked at consuming lobsters, explaining, “The lobster, a creature consumed in incredible quantities at all the highest tables in the land, [is] such a foul feeder that, for its sure capture, the experienced fisherman will bait his lobster-pot with putrid flesh or fish which is too far gone even to attract a crab.”

Pill bugs, however, were a must on his menu. Yes, those little critters known as roly-poly bugs, potato bugs and woodlice. He reports: “I have eaten these, and found that, when chewed, a flavour is developed remarkable akin to that so much appreciated in their sea cousins. Wood-louse sauce is equal, if not distinctly superior to, shrimp.”

The recipe is simple, “Collect a quantity of the finest wood-lice to be found (no difficult task, as they swarm under the bark of every rotten tree) and drop them into boiling water which will kill them instantly, but not turn red, as might be expected. As the same time put into a saucepan a quarter of a pound fresh butter, a teaspoonful of flour, a small glass of water, a little milk, some pepper and salt, and place it on the stove. As soon as the sauce is thick, take it off and put in the wood-lice. This is an excellent sauce for fish.”

If you intend to partake, there is some information that is vital. First, be sure to properly identify your catch. Pill bugs are the most recommended variety of this type of creature for consumption, and are not interchangeable with the similar (though not as tasty) sow bugs. Differentiating the two is not difficult. Sow bugs can’t roll up into a ball, their bodies are more oval (less round) than pill bugs and they have two tail-like appendages that are lacking in pill bugs.

While Holt’s book was on insects, he included pill bugs in it although they are not actually insects. Found in the order isopoda, pill bugs are crustaceans, more closely related to shrimp and crayfish than insects. Thus “bugs” is a misnomer. Another name, “land shrimp,” is a better alias, especially since that is what they are compared to, taste-wise.

If you are keen on consumption, collecting these crustaceans is not difficult. Look for moist places: under logs, behind bark— really, anywhere that is wet. Pill bugs must have moisture— their motto is dry and die. They breathe from gills and are considered the only land crustacean.

If you are nearly convinced that pill bugs are the terrestrial equivalent of lobsters, there are some more caveats: harvest healthy pill bugs only. If they are blue or purple, leave them behind, as that color can indicate a viral infection. Though there are reports of people eating pill bugs raw, most recipes insist on boiling these “bugs” and suggest using them in soups, sauces, scones and in scrambled eggs (all well cooked)— but, yes, even as sushi. Being high in protein is one of their benefits.

There are, of course, many reasons not to partake in a pill bug picnic. Pill bugs practice coprophagy, meaning they eat their own— and others’— feces. They also do not urinate; instead they are able, interestingly, to exchange ammonia gas through their armored shell plates. This would surely make for a bitter pill. Just as interestingly, but perhaps not much of a topic for the dinner table, they can breathe from their backsides.

An endearing quality might also make one feel too affectionate to feed on them. Female pill bugs have marsupial-like pouches in which they hold their hundred or so eggs and their young for up to two months after hatching. So a mouthful might be more than you expected.

Whether you pop these pills or prefer to leave them where they are under their barks and logs, remember Guy Fieri’s observation: “Food is not just eating energy. It’s an experience.”

Suzan Bellincampi is director of the Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary in Edgartown, and author of Martha’s Vineyard: A Field Guide to Island Nature.