English Explanatory Dictionary

lanternfly

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Any of various insects in the family Fulgoridae, especially in the genera Fulgora and Pyrops, with brilliant coloration.

Word forms

lanternfly lanternflies

Etymology

From lantern + fly. The name came about because of claims that some Fulgoridae are luminous at night. European and Euro-American writers, including Maria Sibylla Merian and Carl Linnaeus, said that the claims came from Indigenous peoples in South America. (Merian had visited Suriname.) Various names, including lanternfly, the specific name laternaria, and various other (current or former) scientific names, came out of this belief. Compare names for insects that do in fact glow at night: firefly, lightning bug, glow fly, and glowworm.

Derived words

peanut-headed lanternfly spotted lanternfly
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