Say's Firefly to become state insect after bill lights its way through the Indiana House

If nothing else, Gov. Eric Holcomb can check off one box from the legislative agenda he laid out at the start of the year.

Indiana has an official state insect.

“I know this bill bugged some of my legislative friends, but the truth is it’s a big deal to young students around the state who have reached out to us in support — particularly students from Cumberland Elementary School in West Lafayette," Holcomb said in a statement released Tuesday after the bill's passage. "They’ve shown incredible perseverance and have advocated for the Say’s Firefly to be the official state insect for several years."

A dedicated group of "lobbyists" has been fighting to make the Say's Firefly the state insect since the 2014-15 school year. That's when Kayla Xu, working on a project for her second-grade class, first realized that Indiana was one of three states without a state insect.

Since then, Cumberland Elementary School students in West Lafayette have made it their mission to advance legislation to right this wrong, advocating for the popular summer bug named for famed Posey County naturalist, Thomas Say.

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Now a fifth-grader, Xu and her classmates testified before the Senate's public policy committee earlier this session, according to the Lafayette Journal & Courier.

"Everybody loves catching and watching fireflies," she said.

The students' dedication did not go unnoticed. Gov. Holcomb took up their cause last month in his State of the State address.

"This is a great way for young students to be involved in the civic process," Holcomb said. "It will promote good citizens, and it will bring attention to science and the outdoors."

Retired Purdue Entomology Professor Tom Turpin also spoke in favor of naming the Say's Firefly, also known to Hoosiers as a lightning bug.

"Every kid in the state of Indiana, and their parents and their grandparents, collected lightning bugs at some point in their lives," Turpin said.

At least seven firefly bills have been proposed since the 2016 legislative session. Sen. Ron Alting, R-Lafayette, has carried the bill in the Senate each year.

"Yes, we’re one of only three states that doesn't have a state insect and there's many other reasons ... ," Alting said, "but the most important reason why is to reassure the future generation of Hoosiers that government is here to work for them."

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Reps. Shelia Klinker, D-Lafayette, and Sally Siegrist, R-West Lafayette, led the effort in the House.

"We've been working for years on this," Klinker said. "I'm delighted to finally see this come to the House floor for a vote."

The bill passed the House, 93-3. It heads to its highest profile cheerleader, the governor, for his signature.

"Beyond the satisfaction these kids will feel when they look out on a hot Indiana summer night and see the state insect flashing away, the real beauty of this bill is the civic engagement it inspired in our youngest citizens," Holcomb said. "It’s taught them a great deal about how our lawmaking process works — and that if they are engaged, they can make a real difference.”

Call IndyStar education reporter Arika Herron at (317) 444-6077. Follow her on Twitter: @ArikaHerron.