![]() ![]() He based his information on Merian’s account, which was published almost 60 years prior, and never bothered to test whether a lantern bug can produce light. When building his massive record of life, the Systema Naturae, Linnaeus also wrote that lantern bugs had the capability to produce light. Merian, though accurate in most of her account, also included a description of the lantern bug’s strangely shaped head, and postulated that it might be able to produce light in the darkness.Ĭarl Linnaeus, the father of modern taxonomy and the system of binomial nomenclature, picked up on this myth and published it as well. Around 1675, this task fell to Maria Sibylla Merian, one of the first and most well-written entomologists to ever collect and classify the lantern bug. However, this was just a myth that was propagated by scientist first tasked with identifying and naming the small bugs. ![]() Yet, all of these names refer to lanterns because it was once believed that the lantern-shaped head portion of the bugs produced light at night. In some places they are called lantern flies, in others, they are called lantern moths, and in still other parts of the world they are called “lanthorn flies”. Below is an image of the lantern bug Lycorma delicatula, an organism currently considered an invasive species in the United States. The lantern bug will feed, thrive, and have population explosions on crops like grapes, hardwood and timber, and stone fruits such as peaches. Without any natural predators or plants with appropriate defenses, these insects have the potential to do massive damage to local crops. This Old World species was recently found in Pennsylvania and Virginia. Consider, for instance, the spotted lanternfly, a member of the genus Lycorma. However, without natural predators or plants which have adaptive defenses, a population of lantern bugs can quickly become a nuisance. For this reason, the insect has a hard time flourishing, as it is in a constant arms race with the local flora and its natural predators. ![]() Because of the amount of time it has spent in this environment, the bug has adapted to the ecosystem, and the ecosystem has adapted to the bug. The above lantern bug is found in Guatemala, where it has been naturally present for thousands of years. This is likely an evolutionary adaptation which disguises the lantern bug from potential predators. Notice that with its wings open, it looks a lot like bird poop. While this is an accurate description, this lantern bug is likely employing a form of mimicry, and the bug does not intend to look like a peanut. Represented both in the first image and the one below, this lantern bug is is commonly called the “peanut-head” bug. Another common genus, found mostly in the “New World” of the Americas, is the genus Fulgora. This white lantern bug was found in Russia, though the species occupies much of Europe and Asia. Notice the distinct and notable “lantern” which extends from the head of the insect. An example of this genus is seen in the image below. Many of the lantern bug species found in the “Old World” (Europe and Asia) are found within the family Pyrops. Lantern bugs have an incredible number of types and are spread across many genera of the family Fulgoridae. ![]() Though all lantern bug species eat in this manner, there is incredible variety within the family Fulgoridae, found mostly in the genus Fulgora and the genus Pyrops. Sap from plant cells includes a high level of glucose, other sugars, and all of the proteins and fats that the small insects need to survive. After puncturing the thick cell walls of the plants, they use the mouthpiece to suck out the sap found in the cells. The incredible structure that many lantern bugs exhibit on the top of their head, as seen in the image above, includes a small mouthpiece used to puncture and feed on plant cells. Most hemipterans feed on plants, as is the case with lantern bugs. Lantern bugs are members of the order Hemiptera, the order of insects containing what are commonly called “true bugs”. ![]()
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