The Lanternfly
a remarkable bug featuring in the ‘Amazing Rare Things’ exhibition.
A crocodile-head, a pair of big eyes, a nasty taste and maybe flashing lights - the Lanternfly seems well able to deter predators!
The lanternfly (Fulgora lanternaria) is not a fly. It looks rather like a large butterfly, but is actually a true bug – that is, a member of the family: Hemiptera. The most striking thing about this creature is the large swelling in front of its head. This swelling is the size and shape of a peanut (another name is the Peanuthead Lanternfly) and looks a bit like the front end of a crocodile or caiman.
If you a are fortunate enough to be in Edinburgh this year (between 2 March 2007 and 16 September 2007) you will be able to see a beautiful painting of the Lanternfly by Maria Sibylla Merian in the Queen’s Gallery at the Royal Palace of Holyroodhouse. The exhibition is called ‘Amazing Rare Things’ and has wonderful paintings and sketches by Leonardo da Vinci, Mark Catesby, Alexander Marshal and Maria Sibylla Merian. The audio tour is by Sir David Attenborough, and it adds a lot to the whole experience.
The title of this exhibition is a good one – all the rare paintings come from ‘The Royal Collection’ and some of them are truly amazing in their detail and exuberance. Many were painted from dead specimens before the living creatures had ever been seen in Europe. This means that while the anatomical details are accurate the natural history depicted is often suspect. The one of a sloth standing upright on its four legs illustrates the problem here!
Maria Sibylla Merian, in her book ‘Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium’ published in 1705 states that the lanternfly can glow like “a fiery flame” strongly enough to read by at night. This phenomenon explains the generic name (Fulgora – lightning in Roman mythology) and the specific name lanternaria. It has become something of an etymological mystery since no-one has ever seen them glow since this first report. All other details in her book and illustrations are remarkably accurate, and it would be very strange if there were not some truth in this report.
Like many of the Moths and Butterflies this bug has a pair of large ‘eyespots’ on its hind wings. These are thought to startle predators that are about to grab the bug, giving it time to escape. Maybe the ‘crocodile-shaped’ peanut head serves a similar function? The lanternfly is also known to suck poisonous sap from plants, and it must taste horrible as well as looking ‘scary’. If it turns out that the peanut head really can flash a light in the dark, then the lanternfly would be a very well-protected beastie.
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