Big Blue Bug facts for kids

Nibbles Woodaway in 2008

The Big Blue Bug, also known as Nibbles Woodaway, is a giant termite statue. It is the mascot for a company called Big Blue Bug Solutions. You can find it next to I-95 in Providence, Rhode Island. People say it's the biggest fake bug in the world! It's 928 times bigger than a real termite. This huge bug stands 9 feet (2.7 meters) tall and is 58 feet (17 meters) long. It weighs a whopping 4,000 pounds (about 1800 kilograms). It was built in just four days in late 1980. It cost $20,000 to make.

How the Big Blue Bug Was Built

The Big Blue Bug was created by Avenia Sign Company in North Providence. Anthony Pescarino, Tom Grenga, and Ronald Levesque put the sign together. This took them a couple of months. They had to build the wings separately. Then, they took them to Valley Street to be covered in fiberglass. Robert Garafano, Sr. from Olneyville did the fiberglass work. After that, the bug was put together on site. Finally, it was lifted onto the roof.

The bug was first painted purple. This is the color of a real swarming termite when you look at it under a microscope. But the purple paint soon faded to a light blue. People loved the blue color so much that it was never painted purple again. For a while, it was just called the "Big Blue Bug." Providence traffic reporter Mike Sheridan gave it this name. In 1990, a contest was held to give it a proper name. Geraldine Perry from Tiverton suggested "Nibbles Woodaway," which was the winning name.

The Bug in Pop Culture

The Big Blue Bug has been in many movies and TV shows. You might have seen it in the films Dumb and Dumber and Dumb and Dumber To. It has also appeared on TV shows like The Today Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Daily Show, and Family Guy. The bug has even shown up in comic strips like Zippy the Pinhead. It has also been featured in several books. In 1997, it was even on a state lottery ticket!

What's New with the Bug?

Every year, the Big Blue Bug gets dressed up for different holidays. It wears special outfits for Independence Day and Halloween. It also gets decorated for the start of the Pawtucket Red Sox baseball season. For Christmas, it's covered in lights and wears reindeer antlers. It even has a blinking red nose! Since 1990, you can buy stuffed toys that look just like the Big Blue Bug.

On June 20, 2002, the Bug left its home for a short tour. It visited five different places. Before returning to the roof, it was cleaned up and painted a brighter blue. On April 9, 2012, the company that owns the bug changed its name. New England Pest Control became "Big Blue Bug Solutions." The bug even wore a necktie for this special event! In April 2020, the Big Blue Bug wore a surgical mask. This was to show support for "front line workers" during the COVID-19 pandemic.