Fulgoridae
Pyrops candelarius
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Subclass: Pterygota Infraclass: Neoptera Superorder: Exopterygota/Paraneoptera Order: Hemiptera Suborder: Auchenorrhyncha Infraorder: Fulgoromorpha Superfamily: Fulgoroidea Family: Fulgoridae
Subfamilies
Amyclinae Aphaeninae Fulgorinae Lystrinae Phenacinae

The family Fulgoridae is a large group of hemipteran insects, especially abundant and diverse in the tropics, containing over 125 genera world-wide. They are mostly of moderate to large size, many with a superficial resemblance to Lepidoptera due to their brilliant and varied coloration. Various genera and species (especially the genera Fulgora and Pyrops) are sometimes referred to as lantern flies, though they do not emit light.

The head of some species is produced into a hollow process, resembling a snout, which is sometimes inflated and nearly as large as the body of the insect, sometimes elongated, narrow and apically upturned. It was believed, mainly on the authority of Maria Sibylla Merian, that this process, the so-called lantern, was luminous at night. Linnaeus adopted the statement without question and coined a number of specific names, such as laternaria, phosphorea and candelaria to illustrate the supposed fact, and thus aided in promoting a belief which centuries of observations have failed to confirm.

unknown species from China

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; from the article "Fulgoridae". Image Credit.

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