What a peanut head… wait… that’s actually the name? (Fulgora laternaria)

The Peanut Headed Lanternfly is a crazy cool bug with a lot of legends. It also does not match its name at all aside from being peanut headed. Learn all about this whacky bug in today's episode.

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Transcript:

 

This is episode 39 of Insects for Fun! Time really does fly… but today we are not talking about flies at all despite the common name. 

 

Fulgora laternaria often called the Peanut headed lanternfly belongs to the family Fulgoridae and these bugs are very commonly referred to as lanternflies despite not being a fly at all! They don’t even light up, so how is it they got this name in the first place? Well, we will go into that later, but first let’s describe this week's featured bug. 

 

The peanut headed lanternfly is one of the largest lanternflies in the world reaching a length of 3 to 3.5 inches and a wingspan up to 6 inches in length. The most notable feature though is the bulbous peanut shaped extension from their heads. These alone are a little over half an inch, and this big extension also has some conspicuous eye spots on the sides which make it look like it’s capable of swallowing other smaller insects whole, but that’s just a ruse. And in case that wasn’t enough it also has some crazy looking eye spots on its wings too! 

This is another one of those bugs that warrants a good look so go on and give it a google or support the IG and FB page. Other common names for it are actually Alligator bug and snake cicada due to the head resembling that of a reptile. These crazy features are unique to the genus Fulgora and there are only a few species within this genus. 

One other defense mechanism that has been documented for these bugs would be their ability to release a foul smelling odor if heavily disturbed but this is a last resort tactic.

 

These bugs are indeed true bugs and can be found from Mexico down into South America and the adults can be found from June to December. Lanternflies are actually planthoppers and today’s bug does not feed on anything other than plant sap or Phloem. In fact their mouths are specifically designed for piercing plants unlike other bugs who can pierce and feed on insects too. 

 

The life cycle of these cool bugs starts when a male lures a female using vibrations by knocking its hollow peanut shaped head structure against a tree. It’s important to note that the peanut shaped thing is not the true head of the bug and some theories are actually that this fake head is not only used to scare away predators but also trick them into biting or attacking a false head. You might be thinking females don’t look the same but in this case they actually do so the purpose isn’t for mating.

 

These bugs form pairs in the summer months and the female lays a large group of eggs on to the host tree which is often a Guapinol tree scientifically known as Hymenaea courbaril. She also coats the eggs with a waxy substance to protect them from predators and harsh environmental factors. The end result looks like a big mantis egg sac. The nymphs hatch with the same peanut head the adults have but at a much smaller scale because the bugs are of course not big at all at that age. There isn't a lot of information publicly available on breeding and other behaviors so I’m not exactly sure how long it takes to reach adulthood but I do know the adults only live around 1 week despite being able to feed. I know these days we have many listeners from Columbia and Brazil so if any of you have any information regarding things you’ve seen please send me an email and I can post an update! 

 

In the meantime let's look at why they got the name they did and some crazy folktales surrounding these already very interesting bugs. We all know at this point where the peanut part of this whole thing is, but the lanternfly portion is truly strange.

 

The origins of how it got named a lanternfly start in 1705 when a german artist and naturalist named Maria wrote up a book titled metamorphosis insectorum surinamensis. This book is basically a catalog covering all the things she found while traveling in Suriname during 1699, and lantern bugs happen to be described here. The only thing is that in her description she states that these bugs light up their heads at night when both sexes are present, and the light is bright enough to read by. Now I don’t know if any of you have actually seen a lanternfly in person but uh… that’s just simply not true. Today scientists think she might have been confusing them with a big click beetle in the same area capable of lighting up its head. But being able to light up their heads is one of many strange myths these big bugs have accumulated over the years. 

 

There was an entire paper published looking at the folk lore and legends described by people from the village of Pedra Branca in Brazil and a couple of these myths were very popular and widespread.  

 

One of the most prominent beliefs is that the peanut headed lanternfly actually contains poison in its head and is capable of inflicting mortal wounds to people by flying at them and piercing them with their stingers. But this stinger is actually its mouth part referred to as a stylet, and it is purely for feeding on trees. There is no poison at all! What’s really interesting is that around 47% of the people interviewed for this study stated that the bug was a snake. You can’t really blame them though because it really does have a crazy looking reptile head. It should also be noted that this study was done in 2001 so things might be different now.

 

The second popular belief was that the bug kills trees it feeds from by sucking them dry. There is some small truth to the fact that these bugs feed on trees by sucking them, but the bugs are not capable of sucking a tree dry, and there aren’t enough of them to even make it a possibility.

 

In Costa Rica it is believed that this bug is again filled with poison, but if you get stung the only cure is to have sex within the next 24 hours. I can only imagine why and how this legend got started but what I don’t understand is how it’s managed to get so famous and actually stick! It totally reminds me of the movie “It Follows” only instead of a person you know chasing you it's a peanut headed lantern bug. 

 

Featured Artists: Blue Wednesday, Purrple Cat, Sátyr and Phlocalyst.