As a youngster, with a “Skippy Jar” in hand, I ran around many July and August evenings catching “lightning bugs.” (They were always released a while later.) I also spent summer hours walking to the Lehigh Canal to fish or prompting my father to drive us to fish Pine Run. Our choice of bait: “night crawlers.”

I waited for a good soaking rain and just after dark, grabbed a two-celled flashlight and headed to our lawn. After an hour or two I had a couple of fishing trips worth of “crawlers.”

Of course, both “lightning bugs” and “night crawlers” are nicknames. Fireflies and earthworms are the correct names, but I bet few of you told your parents, “I’m going out to catch fireflies.”

I have no idea where these nicknames originated, but they were surely widely used and still are today. On hot July or August days you may hear the loud buzzing crescendo of “locusts,” as the male does his best to try to attract a mate. I bet you didn’t call them annual cicadas either.

I never swam in a public pool until I was probably 10 or 11 years old. Living in East Weissport, it wasn’t too far for mom to drive my sisters, Carol and Jamie, and yours truly, to Pohopoco Creek to swim on hot summer days. As a budding nature geek I often took a Dixie cup and caught “pinheads.” (My nickname for the 1-inch fry of creek chubs)

I thought I’d quiz you on a variety of nicknames of which I am familiar and maybe you as well. Maybe it will “tweak” a good memory for you as a bonus. Give them a try. The answers will be at the bottom.

Matching quiz one

1. Polliwog

2. Quill pig

3. Polecat

4. Short-tailed weasel

5. Shitepoke

6. Timber doodle

A. Striped skunk

B. Ermine

C. American woodcock

D. Tadpole

E. Great blue heron

F. Porcupine

Matching quiz two

(one unused answer)

7. Snow fleas

8. Hundred leggers

9. Thousand leggers

10. Lady bug

11. Daddy long legs

12. Water spiders

A. Spring tails

B. Lady-bird beetle

C. Harvestman

D. Water striders

E. Katydid

F. Centipedes

G. Millipedes

Test Your Outdoor Knowledge: The first swallows to arrive back in our region are tree swallows.

Last Week’s Trivia Answer: The Colorado River Watershed is about is about 25 million acres.

Quiz One Answers: 1. D, 2. F, 3. A, 4. B, 5. E, 6. C

Quiz Two Answers: 7. A, 8. F, 9. G, 10. B, 11. C, 12. D

Contact Barry Reed at breed71@gmail.com.