lanternfly
English
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
lanternfly
Where it comes from
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.
noun lanternflies
- Any of various insects in the family Fulgoridae, especially in the genera Fulgora and Pyrops, with brilliant coloration.
Translations
Talk about this word "lanternfly." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/lanternfly. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. lanternfly. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/lanternfly "lanternfly." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/lanternfly.Cite this
@misc{lanternfly_2026,
title = {lanternfly},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/lanternfly},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
