# Fireflies or Lightning Bugs? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 9, 2011, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireflies-or-lightning-bugs/584876 "2011-06-09T17:13:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PeskiPiksi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e495f1/32.png) [@PeskiPiksi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PeskiPiksi)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireflies-or-lightning-bugs/584876/1 "2011-06-09T17:13:25Z")
Which do you call’em in your neck of the woods? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireflies-or-lightning-bugs/584876/2 "2011-06-09T17:52:18Z")
I, personally, call 'em fireflies, but I often hear both names. (FWIW, they are technically neither flies nor bugs, entomologically.) ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireflies-or-lightning-bugs/584876/3 "2011-06-09T18:01:31Z")
Growing up we called them lightning bugs, but now I use both interchangeably. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireflies-or-lightning-bugs/584876/4 "2011-06-09T18:02:40Z")
You hear both of them around here. When I was small, lightning bug was more common. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireflies-or-lightning-bugs/584876/5 "2011-06-09T18:05:42Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > Growing up we called them lightning bugs, but now I use both interchangeably. Same here. I would have voted “both” if I could have. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireflies-or-lightning-bugs/584876/6 "2011-06-09T18:11:49Z")
Another who would have said both had it been available. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireflies-or-lightning-bugs/584876/7 "2011-06-09T18:15:25Z")
I grew up calling them fireflies in Louisiana. As best I can recall, that’s what everyone in my home town called them, though I think most people would have known what you meant by “lightning bug”. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireflies-or-lightning-bugs/584876/8 "2011-06-09T18:23:05Z")
But you can only get a “hug” from a lightning bug 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireflies-or-lightning-bugs/584876/9 "2011-06-09T18:35:53Z")
Side issue: how many have gathered a jar full of them to use as a flashlight? ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireflies-or-lightning-bugs/584876/10 "2011-06-09T18:54:44Z")
From [Owl City - Fireflies](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psuRGfAaju4) ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireflies-or-lightning-bugs/584876/11 "2011-06-09T19:58:57Z")
Lightnin’ bugs. I used to cry when the boys would squish them on their pants leg to make glowy spots. That’s just mean. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireflies-or-lightning-bugs/584876/12 "2011-06-09T20:16:37Z")
Where’s the option for: I would prefer “firefly” but have not seen these creatures in my life so I have no strong preference. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireflies-or-lightning-bugs/584876/13 "2011-06-09T22:18:25Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Side issue: how many have gathered a jar full of them to use as a flashlight? I’ve never done that, but I used to be able to lure them to land on my hand with a penlight–I learned the timing of the flashes and copied it. Apparently, they aren’t too fussy about the color as long as the timing is right. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireflies-or-lightning-bugs/584876/14 "2011-06-09T22:46:36Z")
Both names are used about equally in Wisconsin. Talking to a kid I’m more likely to say Lightning bug. ---
**Author:** ![Walkabout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walkabout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walkabout)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireflies-or-lightning-bugs/584876/15 "2011-06-09T22:55:59Z")
I clicked “other” because I use both. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireflies-or-lightning-bugs/584876/16 "2011-06-09T23:35:13Z")
I clicked “other” because I’ve never heard either term used here. I don’t know whether we even have them. ---
**Author:** ![kapri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kapri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kapri)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireflies-or-lightning-bugs/584876/17 "2011-06-10T00:35:52Z")
I grew up outside Philadelphia and we called them lightning bugs. The first time I saw the word “firefly” was when I read it in a book. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireflies-or-lightning-bugs/584876/18 "2011-06-10T00:42:12Z")
We called them lightning bugs when growing up. We used to catch them in mayonnaise jars. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireflies-or-lightning-bugs/584876/19 "2011-06-10T07:48:10Z")
We always called them fireflies, but there were always people in the same location who called them lightning bugs. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireflies-or-lightning-bugs/584876/20 "2011-06-10T11:39:27Z")
“Lightning bugs” was the common term while I was growing up in Texas; I use both terms interchangeably now. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireflies-or-lightning-bugs/584876.md?page=2)