The Peanut-headed Lanternfly, one of the weirdest insects that I have seen, 3 images

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cr_wildlife

cr_wildlife

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This Peanut-headed Lanternfly (Fulgora laternaria) was noticed on a tree trunk by my wife, Kathy, despite the insect's excellent camouflage, as seen in the first photo. The second photo shows a side view of the insect, to give a better idea of what it looks like. The third image is a close up of the insect's namesake head. The "peanut"' part of the head is completely non-function, in that it contains no important parts of the head. One can see the real eye of the lantern fly below and behind the peanut structure. The coloration of the peanut does look like the head of a large lizard or snake, including an eye marking and a mouth that looks like has a full array of teeth. This has led some to suggest that the peanut head functions to discourage predators from attacking. Besides the head appendage, this insect has large false eyes on the wings that are seen when the wings are opened and that it displays to predators and also emits a foul smelling substance when attacked. The insect hides on tree trunks during the day and feeds on tree sap at night.
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wow, one wild looking insect. I looked up their range, (Central America, South America, parts of Mexico) which explains why I've never seen or heard of one.

That really is a cool looking insect and not only the camouflage but the mimic of something more dangerous is very interesting.
Thank you for sharing.
Jeff
 
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jeffnles1 said:
wow, one wild looking insect. I looked up their range, (Central America, South America, parts of Mexico) which explains why I've never seen or heard of one.

That really is a cool looking insect and not only the camouflage but the mimic of something more dangerous is very interesting.
Thank you for sharing.
Jeff
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Thank you very much, Jeff!
 
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Whoa! That's a crazy looking insect. Great shots. I was wondering if this was similar to the Spotted Lanternfly, which we're encouraged to kill on the spot where I live since they're invasive. These guys look completely different though!
 
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