The lantern bug, especially that of the genus Pyrops, is a favorite among collectors due to their bright patterns.
The lantern bug, also known as “lantern fly” is a very old insect. They have been around for more than 300 million years.
The order of insects in which lantern bugs belong to can be found in three continents – Asia, Australia, and America.
Lantern bugs belong under the fulgorid genus of Fulgora and Pyrops.
Lantern bugs of the Fulgora genus can be found in Central and South America while those under the Props genus can be found in southeast Asia.
Size, shape and colors of the lanter bug.
The lantern bug can grow from 1.5 to 3 inches long from head to thorax and has a wingspan of about 2 to 2.5 inches wide, depending on the species. It has a long beak, called its rostrum, which it uses to suck the juice out flowers and fruits. The lantern bug is an herbivore.
Lantern bugs are called thus because of their bright usually contrasting colors. Their actually coloring varies for each genus but the colors are bright enough for them to earn their name, despite the fact that no lantern bug actually emits any light at all.
Lantern bugs all belong under the order called Hemiptera.
There are actually around 80,000 species belonging under the order. Aside from lantern bugs other insect under the Hemiptera order include cicadas, aphids, shield bugs, etc. Insect belonging all have the distinctive characteristic of having a proboscis with a beak (rostrum) that is designed to pierce tissue and suck fluids, usually sap, out. True bugs undergo metamorphosis several times and the nymphs look a lot like the adults.
The Order Hemiptera is further subdivided into the sub-orders Heteroptera, Auchenorrhyncha, Sternorrhyncha, and Coleorrhyncha. The last three sub-orders where once classified under one sub-order, Homoptera, until since they shared the same wing structure and position of their rostrum. Lantern bugs belong under the sub-order Homoptera.
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