Firefly Sightings

  • Catching fireflies is an important part of summer.
  • Help us track where people are seeing fireflies in their backyard.
  • Submit your sightings on the map and connect with others who spotted fireflies in your area.

Submit Your sightings

Common Names for Fireflies

A firefly by any other name would still glow as brightly. But fireflies are a numerous and prolific species living all over the world, and they’re well-known in hundreds of different cultures. Because of this, they’re called by many common names. Here are just a few of the many names of fireflies.

WE NEED YOUR HELP! Do you have a spoken or written word used for firefly or lightning bug in one of the many languages around the world? Please let us know! A large majority of the names listed below have been sent to us from visitors around the world.

Firefly
Firefly Beetle
Glow Worm - British word, sometimes used to refer to firefly larvae.
Glow Fly
Moon Bug
Lightning Bug
Golden Sparkler
Hotaru - The Japanese word for firefly.
Big Dipper
Blinkie - Jamaican term.
Minna-Minni - This is a Malayalam word for firefly. Malayalam (ma-la-yaa-lam) is the official language of the state of Kerala in India. Kerala is situated in the western peninsular tip of southern India.
Luciérnaga - The Spanish (spoken) word for firefly.
Cucubanos - Spanish (spoken) word used in Caribbean islands such as Puerto Rico and Cuba.
Ipurtargi - Basque language (Spoken in Spain & France)
Vaga-Lume - Portuguese word for firefly.
Kelip-Kelip - (congregating firefly) in the Malay language in Malaysia.
Kunang-Kunang - (mostly for solitary firefly) or api-api in the Malay language in Malaysia.
Minnaminungu - 'Malayalam' language spoken in the state of 'Kerala' in India.
Kalamadiriya - Sinhala language of Sri Lanka
Leuchtkäfer - German
Glühwurm - German (Term for the firefly larvae (similar to Glow Worm)
Glühwürmchen - German (Cuter term that mostly children would use.)
Luciole - French
светлячок - Russian
Glimworm: - Dutch
Lucciola: - Italian
ホタル Japanese
개똥벌레 Korean
螢火蟲 Chinese (traditional)
萤火虫 Chinese (simplified)
Hing Hoy - The vernacular name for fireflies in Thai language
גחלילית of Gakhlilit - Hebrew word for firefly
Vuurvliegie - Afrikaans (a cross between Dutch and English)
Tulikärpänen - Finnish
Alitaptap - Tagalog language (Also known as Filipino. Spoken in the Philippines.)

Got a unique name for fireflies, or know their name in another language? Tell us about it! Submit it here, and we’ll put it up on our site.

Fun Fact:Aztecs

The Aztecs used the name for firefly metaphorically, meaning a spark of knowledge in a world of ignorance or darkness

Firefly Myth:Chinese

The chinese thought that twinkling little beetles came from when you burned grass.

Fun Fact:American Indians

Native American Indians collected fireflies and smeared them as decorations on their faces and chest.

Firefly Myth:Europeans

An old european legend warned that if a lightning bug flew in the window, someone was going to die.

Share Your Firefly Story

This is the place to tell us how you brought fireflies back in your yard. | More

How to Help Fireflies

There are a few things you could do to help to restore fireflies in your backyard | More

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