Dr. Joe Coelho, who is Professor of Biology at Quincy University, Illinois, US, is the author of ‘Insects In Fireworks’ a paper published in Ethnoentomology: an Open Journal of Ethnoentomology and Cultural Entomology, 2: 20–29.
To clarify, the paper is not about the use of insects as ingredients in firework mixtures, but rather the use of their names in firework branding.
“Fireworks with entomological names were observed in order to examine how arthropods were represented. Hymenoptera were the most commonly occurring group, followed by Lepidoptera and Arachnida. Fountains were the most common type of entomological firework, followed by aerial spinners. The most frequent noise associated with insect fireworks was the crackle, followed by the hummer.”
The paper can be read in full here :
The professor maintains a YouTube channel showing a collection of videos of entomological fireworks for a study in cultural entomology.
Note: The paper (and the videos) also feature some spiders which, it may be remembered, are not insects, but non-insect arthropods.
Research research by Martin Gardiner