Matt’s new shed has become a haven for doodle bugs. You can see their small round funnels everywhere in the soft sandy dirt.
When I was little we would crouch down with our head leaned close above the little inverted tornado looking place in the soft dirt and say:
Doodlebug Doodlebug come out!
Your house is on fire and your
Children will burn!
According to the Frank C. Brown Collection of NC Folklore there are many variations on the little saying.
- Doodle doodle, come and get a grain of corn.
- Doodlebug, doodlebug, come up and get a grain of corn; Your house is burning up.
- Doodlebug, doodlebug, come and get your bread.
- Doodlebug, doodlebug, come get your bread before your house burns.
- Doodlebug, doodlebug, come to supper; I’ll give you bread and butter.
- Doodle, doodle, come and get some bread and butter; Doodle, doodle, come and get a barrel of sugar.
- Doodlebug, doodlebug come up, your house is on fire!
- Doodlebug, doodlebug, your house is on fire; Wife’s gone away, and the children will burn.
- Doodlebug doodlebug, come out of your house; it’s burning up with your wife and all your children, except Mary-she’s under the dishpan.
These come with directions:
- Take a straw and stir in the nest of the doodlebugs. While so doing, repeat these words, “Doodle, doodle, come and get a cup of coffee,” a few times, and the doodlebugs will come forth.
- To make a small bug come from the ground, say, “Doodlebug, doodlebug, come up and get sugar.” And to make him go down again, say, “Doodlebug, doodlebug, go down in the ground.”
There’s no telling how many gallons of coffee has been drunk here in Wilson Holler. I can’t believe us kids didn’t know the one about the cup of coffee.
We did sometimes stick a blade of grass into the hole. We didn’t try to stir, we tried to fish for them. I never did get a doodlebug to come out of its hole by chanting at it nor did I ever catch one, but it didn’t stop me from trying.
I can’t wait to show Woodrow and Ira how to call for doodle bugs.
Tipper
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Bugs played an important role in entertaining us as kids. I grew up on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee. Not only singing to the Doodlebug to come out of his house, we tied string to June bugs!
My daddy taught me about the doodlebug and called me his Doodle all my life as far as I can remember. I often signed his birthday or Christmas cards with Doodle. I even sent him a fax once telling him I loved him signed Doodle. I miss him. He only died just last February.
I’m so sorry you lost him. God bless you!! Precious memories indeed.
My Daddy taught me all about Doodle bugs when I was little. Me and my cousins used to try to get them to come out of there homes with the doodle bug song but it never worked. My Daddy nicknamed my oldest, who is now 23, daughter Doodle Bug. He’s been gone 7 years now & every once in a while I’ll call her by that nickname and we always smile! Thank you again Tipper for reminding me of fun times from my childhood.
We always said Ladybug Ladybug, fly away home.
Your house is on fire and your children will burn.
or
Your house is on fire and your children all gone.
Yes, Randy, I remember hearing the VW Beetle called Doodle Bug!
Always thought of the name “Doodle Bug” as a nickname name for a child. Never knew it was a true insect. I’ve called little ones “Doodle Bug” before. If not mistaken, I was called that name as a child myself. And I believe it made giggle over that. Have prayers up for so many of your followers and other YouTube viewers and pray God will bless each and every one of you. I also Thank God for this outlet and for you and your lovely family Miss Tipper and Matt. As I normally say God bless y’all today, tomorrow and always.
Oh! A Rolly Polly! Raised on the West Coast, I don’t think I have ever heard of a Doodlebug, and I was wondering what other fun stuff I missed during my childhood. So, I looked up the Doodlebug, and it turns out we used to play with them all the time, except we knew them as “Rolly Pollies.”
Your childhood song brought back memories, except I knew the song of Lady Bug. Whenever a ladybug hopped on us, we would sing,
“Lady Bug, Lady Bug,
Fly Away Home!
Your House is on Fire,
And Your Children Are Alone!”
Thanks again, Tipper, for reigniting sweet childhood memories.
A Rolly Polly and a Doodlebug are 2 different bugs
We’d kind of chant it:
Doodlebug, doodlebug fly away home.
You’re house is on fire and your children alone.
We have a lot of doodle bug holes under our shed; maybe it’s cooler there? When my siblings and I were kids mama taught us to doodle them out with a pine straw needle. She would tell us to stick it right in the middle of the hole, go gently round and round and say “doodle bug, doodle bug come outta that hole”. I taught my sons and granddaughters to do it to. Such fun!! Many children now days don’t know the enjoyment of being outside playing.
Is it possible that not one poster today “fished” for doodlebugs with a broom as we did? If you gently disturb the bottom of the cone with the very tip of a straw, the ant lion will grasp it and can be lifted clear. I remember contests to see who could catch the most.
I never played with bugs..well the ants were ok and interesting. My older siblings chased and teased the far out of me with bugs and worms so I reckon that’s why. I do recall ‘doodlebug, doodlebug, come out today, the house is on fire and Mother’s away’.
It also brought to mind granddaddy long legs. We would pick them up and ask ‘Granddaddy, Granddaddy, where’d the cows go?’….and they always pointed a leg somewheres. Lol
I’ll have to study on this to see if I can remember other bug related sayings.
Loved reading everyone’s comments about this.
Bless all y’all!
Hi Tipper and Acorns. I haven’t thought about Doodlebugs in ages. When I was in the 3rd grade Daddy was stationed in Vietnam and we lived in our trailer in my grandmother’s back yard here in TN. Daddy came home sometime that year and we packed up and moved to Fort Gordon, GA. We were there for 3 years. I spent many days laying in the GA grass and sand fishing for Doodlebugs. A thin, long piece of grass/straw was stuck gently into the hole and it would instantly start to bob and twist to my delight. I did this every summer there and almost every day. I never saw the doodlebugs, but it was fun. I would have several fishing poles at the same time. I never knew there was a rhyme. TY for all of your stories.
Antlions, also known as doodlebugs, are insects famous for their larval stage, where they dig conical pits in sand to trap and eat ants and other small insects. The larva waits at the bottom of the pit, and when prey falls in, it uses its large jaws to flick sand, causing the victim to slide down and be captured. The adult antlion looks like a fragile, damselfly-like insect and is a beneficial predator, feeding on pests.
In Vermont, we called a tractor made with the front of an old Ford – like a model T – a Doodlebug!
And we called what you call Doodlebugs, Ladybugs;-)
My father called out doodlebugs by pointing his index finger down directly over the hole with a circular motion and chanting ‘doodle bug, doodle bug come out of your house. I’ve got a bushel of corn for you.’ That’s been almost 70 years ago and I can still hear his voice.
Morning everyone. I really don’t like bugs. I am terrified of most. The Doodle bug is the worst looking one yet. I wouldn’t go looking for them, I would find ways of getting rid of them. I do like Dragon flies. Every year we get swarms of them. We are getting them the last few days because of the constant rain and mosquitos. Praying Mantis, are the cutest. When you get close they turn their heads to listen to you. Now one of them I would have as a pet. Christmas in July. I was thinking but didn’t want to ask about it. Yippee. Anna from Arkansas.
I’ve seen those little holes all my life, but always thought it was from ants. Are doodle bugs the same thing as roly-polies? I love roly-polies, and have always liked to see them roll into a little ball. I would play with them a lot as a child.
The original “drones” (unmanned aerial weapons) used by the Germans in WWII, the V-1’s, were called “doodlebugs” by the Allies for whatever reason. I suppose it was because it was a funnier-sounding name than the more accurate descriptive name of “buzz bomb.”
As a child, I used to play around the doodlebug tunnels, but I never actually saw a doodlebug. My cousin and I created our own rhyme that went something like this: “Doodlebug, doodlebug, do you love me? If you do, come out and see.” This post reminds me of silly little childhood games I haven’t thought about in years. Along with those memories, I can envision the school playground full of doodlebug holes right beside the see-saw and homemade swings that hung from tall limbs on a huge beech nut tree.
My cousins and I would call to the doodle bug when we were growing up. Great memories. I wanted to order the Folk School Cookbook but when I go to the link you gave, it gives me a warning about a possible unsafe website. I’d love to get more information from you. Always enjoy your daily content.
Brenda, looks like they aren’t doing online orders at this time, but they say to call them and they will help you over the phone. You can see the notice here: https://www.folkschool.org/craft-shop/ 🙂
we always chanted Doodle bug, doodle bug come out to play.
funny thing is, my cousins (boys) taught me to just scoop up the whole little hole. then gently blow the dirt away. unless the doodle has moved, you’ll catch one every time!
I’ve now gone on to teach my grandkids this and am now looking forward to tracking great grands
I was a boy when I was little. The girls tried to call them out, the boys tried to torment them. We would drop grains of sand in the little funnel tunnels so that they would think pizza had arrived. We’d watch them rearrange their little trap and dig back under. As soon as they settle down we’d do it again.
Sometimes we would fill their little ant traps back in somewhat and wait for them rebuild it. Sometimes we would dig the hole thing up and try to move it. That’s what little boys do. You can teach Woodrow and Ira to sing the little song to call them out but I’ll bet you a nickel they will eventually end up with a shovel.
PS: I meant to say “hole”.
we dug doodle bugs at my Granny’s house.
When I was small we would go under the house and there were hundreds of doodle bug tunnels. We talked to them and play with them when we could get one to come out. They rolled up in a little ball and after they felt safe they would start crawling up our arms. Ah, the good ole days!
Sandra, you’re talking about pill bugs, or roly-polis. Doodle bugs, a.k.a. ant lions, dig funnel-shaped traps to catch careless, or curious, ants for home-delivered meals.
Omgoodness….what great memories ! When I was a little girl, I played with Doodle Bugs almost
everyday, I sang the rhymes to them, and just blew a little on top of their little house and out they’d come ! We would play hours over there on the bank where there were lots of them, my Big Brother, Henry showed me how to get them to come out, we would make up songs about them.
We only said the “house is on fire” part of the rhyme. But I was taught the thing to do was blow softly in the sand funnel. Doodle bugs are a feature of the Cumberland Plateau country of Ky and Tn. Much of the soil is sandy and underneath those cliff overhangs it stays dry. The doodle bugs like it. Strange how tiny reminders open a floodgate of memories.
When we visited our grandparents down in NE MS we would always go visit old family cemeteries covered in white sand and near the old church we would find those holes and try to call up a doodle bug. My mother taught us to say Doodle Bug, Doddle Bug come out, your house is on fire! Never did get one to come out:)
I remember my mother, who was from KY, had a toddler on her knee singing some song about doodle bug, but I don’t remember the words. We didn’t have doodle bugs in Ohio, it was too cold, I guess.
I heard the rhyme ” Doodlebug, Doodlebug fly away home. Your house is on fire and your children are alone.” Lately , as I thought about it, it seemed a little cruel to be talking about a house fire with children in it. I wonder if it might be a way of cautioning folks about leaving children alone in situations that could be hazardous.
I read that doodlebugs can be kept as pets. The way Ira likes spiders, he would probably love to watch a doodlebug at work catching ants for dinner. We never said a doodlebug rhyme, but we said the one about ladybugs—ladybug, ladybug, fly away home. Your house is on fire, and your children will burn. Have a great day everyone!
Oh, I “played” with doodle bugs my entire life as a child. When you take a piece of grass & wiggle it softly around the top of the little cone the doodle bug thinks something is caught in the cone so he comes up to try to catch it (like a spider does in his web.) Then we would take a spoon & scoop him up along with some sand & put it in the palm of our hand & watch it wiggle around in our hand. They always look like they are walking backwards. Precious memories!
I am absolutely not familiar whatsoever with the antlion doodlebug. However, not to be plumb ignorant on the subject, I just watched a video about the insect and he spends several YEARS in that larval stage trapping mostly ants into his sand pit and tossing around huge boulders (or what amounts to that if he were human.) He’s apparently strong, hungry and homely in the looks department. Also, THE BLIND PIG AND ACORN CAME UP AS A SOURCE OF DOODLEBUG INFORMATION and I screenshotted your popularity proof concerning the subject. So anyway, we gotta burn his house? lol sounds rather drastic for little kids to say. I much prefer the cup of coffee saying myself. I can’t say I’ve seen a doodlebug in my whole life, but then again I ain’t been looking for one so from now on I might go looking for them on my outings… the stuff one picks up from you, Tipper, is mind blowing… you’re a plethora of interesting topics… May the Lord bless you all this day and especially ones sick and broken hearted… the Lord hears our prayers and he sends people to care and pray- sometimes strangers from another part of the country. He’s more than capable of making impossible possible. Believe that!!!
Sadie….I always love to read your comments. “He’s more than capable of making impossible possible.”…..should be in next Monday night’s WOWS! The wine at the wedding….healing the blind man….raising Lazarus….feeding the 5000…..walking on water…..ETERNAL LIFE.
Luke 12:32…..Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
As children, we doodled for the bugs just as you described. Our incantation to summon the bugs was practically identical, though there was a line or two I had not heard.
We used to play with doodle bugs but I never ever heard a chant and didnt even know they lived underground! Learn something new every day!
I have hundreds of Antlions (doodle bugs) in my barn. Take a single ant or very small bug and drop in the funnel to see the doodle bug come out.
I have went to the same church all of my life, our old church building had a large dirt floor picnic shed with many doodle bug holes. Me and the other children would try to doodle one out of the hole but were not very successful. We built and moved into a modern church building that has a social hall in 1965. The old picnic shed is still standing but the roof is falling in and the old swing set we played on is still there. I pass by it at least once a week and always think of the good times I enjoyed there with the other kids and many of the older church members. I also often wonder how none of us kids never got hurt on the swing set, we were always trying to see who could swing the highest. It was a large (tall) maybe homemade set just like the one we had at my grammar school.
Do any members remember when the original Voltswagon Beetle was nicknamed a Doodle Bug? Spell check is showing I spelled it wrong but spelled it like I say it.
Do you remember playing a game in the car where you counted Volkswagens? When you saw a white one you yelled “Herbie” and got 10 points. When you saw any other color you yelled “Wheelie” and got one point. When you passed a graveyard on your side of the road you lost all your points and had to start over.
Ammons, I never played or heard of that game, fact of business I never played any game with these cars, in another comment or reply to myself, I mention my children playing a game they called punch buggy.
Ammons, this may get posted twice, I never heard of or played this game, fact is I never played any games like this with cars, except for one with my girlfriend, if I saw a car with a burned out headlight first, I kissed her, if she saw it first I didn’t get to kiss her, it went something like that. I didn’t think about this is my first comment to you. I mentioned my children playing “ punch buggy” in another comment.
Randy-I do remember calling our Volkswagen beetle a doodle bug. I haven’t thought about that in years. I remember one time when very young, sitting in the very back of the doodle bug with my little sister. Dad was driving us to see Blackwater Falls and we were taking our elderly neighbors with us. How unsafe was that?
Brenda, when I look back on my 73 years, we did many, many things that are now considered unsafe but somehow we survived. My Daddy never owned a pickup truck but as a rural country boy I rode many times in the back/bed of a pickup truck especially when helping neighbor farmers gather up their square bales of hay- sometimes on top of the stack of hay. All of today’s teenage boys need to experience picking up square bales of hay in the field, stacking them in the bed of a truck or wagon, taking them to barn and unloading and throwing them up from the truck and stacking in a tin roof barn loft on a hot southern July/August day for at least once in their life. Going and getting in the water of nearby cold creek never felt better after doing this work all afternoon. I would get paid a FEW dollars for helping do this and be happy to get them.
I realized after posting this it should be Volkswagen. My children would play a game when we driving somewhere and call out punch buggy when they saw these cars, the one that said it first got to LIGHTLY punch the other one. I expect in my day, teenage boys would have been trying to knock the fool out of one another’s arm if playing this game!
😀 68 years on this planet and I didn’t know doodlebugs were real lol I thought their chants were just nursery rhymes. Oh my goodness, Ira’s sweet little voice in the video the other day just slapped a smile on my face that stayed for hours. He sure is a great little helper♡ My great granddaughter is almost 13 months old and does so many funny things as she toddles around. Her pointer finger does a lot of “communicating” for her since she’s not talking much yet. We are blessed by these precious babies. It was great to have you back last night and it sounds like vacation bible school was a success and even better was hearing that Papaw Tony is feeling better♡ My chemo treatments are every 28 days. When I was receiving immunotherapy, only, it was every 42 days. With the chemo, the 3-5 days after are a bit meh but I’m soon back to feeling great and carrying on my usual routine. So thankful! I sure hope/pray he continues to improve.
Kim, I pray each new day has you feeling better!
Never heard of them. Have seen the holes.
I’ve played with doodle bugs, but didn’t say anything to them. I did get one to come out once, and it looked like a very small spider, so my curiosity was satisfied!
We used to talk to lady bugs though. We’d say “Lady bug, lady bug, fly away home! Your house is on fire and your children do roam!, What I wonder is who started those rhymes? It’s really interesting that they’ve been carried on. We were so much more in touch with the world around us back then. I’m glad that you’re passing the custom on to Ira & Woodrow. The world is a wonderful place to explore!
I’ve never heard anyone talk about Doodlebugs before until now. I just didn’t know they existed. Interesting. I’m finding the older I get the more I realize I don’t know as much as I thought I did. Woodrow and Ira will have so much fun with you teaching them about the Doodlebugs. I foresee lots of fun times you’ll have with the boys and the Doodlebugs.