glowworm

[gloh-wurm]

the wingless female or larva of the European beetle, Lampyris noctiluca, which emits a sustained greenish light.

any of various other beetle larvae or wingless females that emit a glow rather than a flash of light.

Origin of glowworm

1300–50; Middle English. See glow, worm

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

God makes the glow-worm as well as the star; the light in both is divine.
A Dish Of Orts
George MacDonald
A Jackdaw once ran up to a Glow-Worm and was about to seize him.
Boys and Girls Bookshelf (Vol 2 of 17)
Various
Said the Glow-Worm with pride, “Wickedness yields to wisdom!”
Boys and Girls Bookshelf (Vol 2 of 17)
Various
The rabbit has white warmth for a waistcoat, and the glow-worm has a lantern for a head.
A Miscellany of Men
G. K. Chesterton
Has the Glow-worm a free control of the light which he emits?
The Glow-Worm and Other Beetles
Jean Henri Fabre

British Dictionary definitions for glow-worm

a European beetle, Lampyris noctiluca, the females and larvae of which bear luminescent organs producing a greenish light: family Lampyridae

any of various other beetles or larvae of the family Lampyridae