this post was submitted on 13 Aug 2025
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I'm also from the south, and pumpkin bugs and tomato bugs are totally different things. Pumpkin bugs aka squash bugs are Anasa tristis, and tomato bugs are Engytatus modestus. I've never once heard anyone call roly polys pumpkin or tomato bugs
All I can say is that people be trippin. When I have asked people why they call them that, the usual is "I dunno, I guess they look like pumpkins, that's just what my family called them, so I do too".
I suspect that it comes down to nobody really remembering why a bug is called its colloquial name, nor bothering to ask or explain, and after while, the mistake becomes the norm. Kids mislabel stuff a lot, and spread things faster than they do germs. Easy for weird things to slip in.
Like how people call crane flies "mosquito hawks" but crane flies don't even have mouths as adults and don't eat mosquitoes. People don't realize you can call a crane fly a gollywhopper and be more accurate.
That's a perfect example!