firebug

English

A colony of firebugs (Pyrrhocoris apterus) on a tree stump

Wikispecies

Etymology

From fire +‎ bug.

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

firebug (plural firebugs)

1. Pyrrhocoris apterus, a common red and black insect, that is the type species of the family Pyrrhocoridae.
2. (slang) A pyromaniac or arsonist.
   • 2024 August 9, Gabriella Bass, Jorge Fitz-Gibbon and Joe Marino, “Firebug accused of torching NYC building, injuring 9 is freed without bail, back in neighborhood”, in New York Post‎^[1]:

     But the firebug allegedly ran back inside yelling before he finally took off.

   • 2025 January 12, Jared Downing, “TikToker captures careless idiots releasing lantern balloons on Southern California beach as LA burns: ‘ Do you even know what’s happening?’”, in New York Post‎^[2]:

     In the video, she can be heard explaining to the firebugs that she has been working with victims of the wildfires that have destroyed thousands of homes and forced more than 100,000 people to evacuate.

Translations

Pyrrhocoris apterus

• Albanian: çimkë e shullanit f
• Bulgarian: светулка (bg) f (svetulka)
• Catalan: coralet m
• Esperanto: ruĝa cimo
• Finnish: tulilude
• French: gendarme (fr) m, pyrrhocore (fr) m
• German: Feuerwanze f
• Greek: πυγολαμπίδα (el) f (pygolampída), (colloquial) κωλοφωτιά (el) f (kolofotiá)
• Polish: kowalik (pl) m, tramwajarz (pl) m
• Romanian: vaca-domnului f
• Russian: клоп-солдатик (ru) m (klop-soldatik)
• Spanish: chinche de la malva arbórea f
• Turkish: alev tahtakurusu (tr)
• Welsh: llyslau tanbaid f pl

pyromaniac or arsonist

• Bulgarian: подпалвач m (podpalvač)
• Catalan: piròman (ca) m, piròmana (ca) f
• French: pyromane (fr) m
• German: Feuerteufel (de) m
• Japanese: 放火魔 (hōkama)
• Polish: piroman (pl) m, podpalacz (pl) m
• Spanish: pirómano (es) m
• Welsh: bonffaglwr m