Bug

An earthquake opens a fissure near a California farm, releasing a species of insect from deep underground that can generate fire. The creatures kill several people and set off unexplained blazes around a small town, drawing the attention of scientist James Parmiter. Rather than helping destroy them, he moves to the affected farm to study the insects, which he names Parmitera Hephestus. His research, and his experiments in breeding them, lead him toward something more dangerous than the original outbreak.

The film is a horror and science fiction story directed by Jeannot Szwarc, the first of the features listed in his filmography before Jaws 2 and Somewhere in Time. William Castle produced, and wrote the screenplay with Thomas Page. Bradford Dillman plays James Parmiter, with Joanna Miles as Carrie Parmiter, Richard Gilliland as Gerald Metbaum, Jamie Smith-Jackson as Norma Tacker, Alan Fudge as Mark Ross and Jesse Vint as Tom Tacker. It was released in June 1975 and took around 4 million dollars worldwide.

On IMDb it holds 5.2/10 from roughly 2,900 votes, and on TMDB 5.3/10 from about 100 votes. A critics' rating of 4.9/10 from 14 reviews places it slightly below the audience scores, and the modest vote counts alongside a low rating indicate a minor, largely forgotten genre entry rather than a widely seen one.