Lantern Bugs of Hong Kong: Part Shrimp, Dragonfly, Rhino, and Mosquito

Sometimes the best sightings are the ones you least expect.

It was while out on a night hike in the Tsing Yi Nature Trails with a couple of adventurous work colleagues that I encountered my first ever lantern bug! The mission was a simple one: Head out into the night with our collection of mismatched headlamps and torches and try to find some interesting wildlife!

We spotted everything from crabs to centipedes and even a snake! But one of the most intriguing discoveries of the night was a lone lantern bug (also referred to as a lanternfly) perched upon the bark of a tree. It was quite willing to have its photo taken and to be observed. The vibrancy of its colors really stood out, as did its brilliant snout!

The lantern bug's prominent horn-like projection is usually hollow and can be nearly as large as the insect’s body (as is evident from the above image). Unlike what one might expect, this extended “snout” is not a weapon like a rhino's horn, but rather a specialized structure known as the rostrum. Lantern bugs use their rostrum as a piercing-sucking mouthpart, similar to a mosquito’s proboscis, allowing them to pierce trees and plants to feed on sap. This sap-sucking feeding method fuels their energetic lifestyle as they extract nutrient-rich fluids from their host plants.

The reason lantern bugs carry the name “lantern” bug is rooted in an old, intriguing myth. Early naturalists, like Nehemiah Grey (1681) and Maria Sibylla Merian (1705), believed that this horn-like structure glowed like a lantern at night, illuminating the forests with an eerie light. This fanciful idea captured imaginations so strongly that even Carl Linnaeus, the father of taxonomy, incorporated it into their scientific name of Pyrops candelaria (“candelaria” meaning lantern). The rostrum does not glow, though the tip has a yellow coloration that certainly looks like light if viewed in the light. Despite this error, lantern bugs have retained their cute names!

1. The "Shrimp-Like" Legs

• Their forelegs are quite spindly and segmented, giving them a look reminiscent of shrimp or prawn legs.
• The hindlegs are strong and adapted for leaping, but overall they appear delicate and jointed, often colored pale yellowish or orange with darker accents.

2. The Rostrum ("Horn/Snout")

• Among their most striking features is the elongated, upward-curving “snout” (technically an elongated rostrum).
• In P. candelaria, this rostrum can appear greenish with white speckles, slightly curved, and projects forward and upward from the head.
• Despite looking formidable, it isn’t a horn for defense—it’s used to pierce plant phloem for sap-feeding.

3. Coloration of the Body

• The thorax is typically green with fine whitish spots.
• The abdomen is often concealed when at rest, but can show flashes of red-orange from underneath.
• The contrasting colors between the forewings and hindwings is a classic identification cue.

4. Wings

• Forewings: Green with pale blotches, giving a leafy camouflage effect.
• Hindwings: When opened, they’re brilliantly orange-red with a bold black band, a startle pattern to deter predators.
• The overall venation pattern, especially strengthened in the clear sections, gives them a dragonfly-like quality in appearance.

5. Other Distinctive Traits

• Size: Adults are fairly large for planthoppers, about 3–4 cm body length (doubled with the rostrum), with wings longer than the body.
• Head: Right beside the rostrum, the eyes sit close to its base.
• Behavior: At rest, they look like leaves clinging to bark. When disturbed, they may flash their hindwings, then quickly hide them again as a defense mechanism.

Lantern Bug Life Cycle

Like other planthoppers in the family Fulgoridae, Pyrops candelaria undergoes incomplete metamorphosis (hemimetabolous development). This means they don’t have a pupal stage; instead, nymphs gradually molt into adults.

Egg Stage

• Females lay eggs on tree trunks, branches, or sometimes on nearby substrates.
• Eggs are often grouped together and protected with a waxy secretion or coating, helping them avoid desiccation and predation.

Nymphal Stages (Instars)

• After hatching, the nymphs go through several molts known as instars.
• Young nymphs look very different from adults—often black or brown with bold white spots and lacking the long rostrum and colorful wings.
• With each molt, they increase in size and develop features closer to the adult morphology.
• Nymphs are wingless but highly mobile, hopping between host plants.

Adult Stage

• Adults appear after the final molt, with fully developed wings and the distinctive long rostrum.
• Their coloration (green mottled forewings, striking red hindwings) is important both for camouflage and predator deterrence.
• Adults can live for several months, feeding on sap from a variety of host trees.

Lantern Bug Behavior

Feeding

• Pyrops candelaria is a sap-feeder, using its long, straw-like rostrum to pierce the bark and reach phloem sap.
• This feeding habit often associates them with certain host plants, such as longan and lychee trees (Dimocarpus longan, Litchi chinensis), and other woody species.
• They excrete honeydew as a byproduct, which can attract ants and other insects.
• They are considered a pest species in parts of Asia like Taiwan because they damage the trees they feed off of.

Defensive Displays

• At rest, their forewings provide camouflage against tree bark.
• When threatened, they spread their wings to reveal the startling red-and-black hindwings, then quickly hide them again. This “flash color” display can deter predators.

Movement

• They are capable fliers but often prefer to hop using their strong hind legs when disturbed.
• Their erratic flight and hopping make them difficult for predators to catch.

Seasonality

• They tend to appear in higher numbers during warmer months, when host plants are in active growth.
• Mating and egg-laying typically follow seasonal cycles of vegetation.

Social Behavior

• They are not highly social, but multiple individuals are often seen feeding on the same host tree.
• While not forming true “colonies,” their aggregations are common where host plants are abundant.