And the Billywig forgot to twirl,
When his sweetheart left him cold.
-- Jazz Singer in the Blind Pig (WFT)
The Billywig is a magical insect, about a half-inch long and vivid blue in color, with a large stinger that causes levitation and laughter in victims. The Billywig is native to Australia (FB). Dried Billywig stings are used in several potions and are allegedly a component in Fizzing Whizzbees (FB). They are part of the Wideye (Awakening) Potion (Pm). Zygmunt Budge used them to make Laughing Potion (BoP).
A Billywig was included in Newt Scamander's case and escaped when he traveled to New York City in 1926. The creature was also mentioned in a song heard by Newt and his friends at the speakeasy known as the Blind Pig:
"The phoenix cried fat tears of pearl
When the dragon snapped up his best girl,
And the Billywig forgot to twirl
When his sweetheart left him cold,
And the unicorn done lost his horn,
And the Hippogriff feels all forlorn,
’Cause their lady loves have upped and gawn,
Or that’s what I’ve been told—" (WFT)
