...and there has been other discussion of doodlebugs/ant lions in the comment boxes below. Here is a picture and scientific information on the Ant Lion
from the Clemson University Entomology Dept.
By the way, I think it would be an incredibly sexy and cool thing to be able to introduce myself to people at those nasty small talk parties as "Hello, I'm Terry. Yes, I'm an entomologist, dealing in doodlebugs." Hmmmm. Maybe no one would talk to me then.......
Aha! Thank you. I had never seen an antlion!
Wood lice (pillbugs--roly polies) are small, gray, segmented (like a lobster tail), and curl up in a hard, exoskeletal ball when you poke them.
No scary pincers on wood lice!