lanternflyoftheday

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Today's lanternfly of the day is Pyrops itoi! The second of the two bright green leaf-like Pyrops (but no less beautiful), this species differs from Pyrops cultellatus only subtly. The two species may occur sympatrically in peninsular Malaysia.

© benjamynweil, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC)

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Today's lanternfly of the day is Pyrops viridirostris! Also known as the green-snout lanternfly. Remember the dark-horned lanternfly? This species is very similar to that one, except, well, the snout is green (maybe a little bit blue to my eyes tbh). I appreciate how there is no nomenclatural consistency in the English common names of these species: "dark horn" vs "green snout" vs "red nose" , etc

© Vijay Anand Ismavel, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC)

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Today's lanternfly of the day is Pyrops delessertii! The genus Pyrops is centered about Indochina and the Malayan archipelago, with nearly all species endemic to that general region; this species is one of the exceptions. Found in western India, this is the furthest west ranging member of the genus. Apart from a similar species found in Sri Lanka, it is a fairly distinctive species.

© Uday Agashe, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC)

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Today's lanternfly of the day is Pyrops spinolae! Also known as the dark-horned lanternfly. There are many other species with a similar wing pattern, but this one can be distinguished by - you guessed it - the dark "horn" (in combination with other more subtle details). The species is one of the most common and widespread lanternfies in continental southeast Asia.

© Peter Ericsson, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC) (image rotated from source)

(this was yesterday's lanternfly of the day which I forgot to post, today's lanternfly of the day will be later today as scheduled)

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Today's lanternfly of the day is Pyrops whiteheadi! Unique to Borneo is a group of 4 closely related lanternfies united by their small size and short but sharply upcurved head processes. Pyrops whiteheadi is not necessarily the most common member of this group, but it is  the one species present in the most commonly visited areas of Borneo, so it is relatively more frequently encountered than the others.

© budak, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC)

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Today's lanternfly of the day is Pyrops cultellatus! There are many green lanternfies, but the green coloration of most species is the result of green veins on a contrastingly black wing membrane. The membrane of this species is entirely green, resulting in a much more vivid, leaf-like color. The species is found in Borneo, peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Thailand.

© budak, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC) (image flipped and rotated from source)

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Today's lanternfly of the day is Pyrops ruehli! Imagine Pyrops pyrorhynchus (featured yesterday) if it was thoroughly covered in a dense white powder - that is the essence of Pyrops ruehli. The species is mainly found on Sumatra, but on peninsular Malaysia there are lanternflies which seem to be intermediate between these two species, making proper identification confusing.

© Pavel Kirillov, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC-SA) (Image flipped & rotated)

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Today's lanternfly of the day is Pyrops pyrorhynchus! Yesterday I shared the "Red-nosed lanternfly" but I always felt that name was better suited for this species, which is basically the ghost dog from Nightmare Before Christmas in lanternfly form. The name pyrorhynchus roughly translates to "fire snout" so clearly I'm not the only one who thinks so. The species is primarily found in peninsular Malaysia.

Image © ayuwat, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC)

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Today's lanternfly of the day is Pyrops karenius! This Thailand species is commonly known as the Red-nosed lanternfly for reasons that need no explanation, but the impressive head processes on lanternflies are not quite noses at all. Their function (if they have one) still remains a mystery.

© 李鍾旻, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC-SA) (image cropped from source)

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Today's lanternfly of the day is the beautiful Pyrops azureus. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands, in the middle of the Indian Ocean 200 miles off the coast of Myanmar, are home to at least 3 unique species of lanternfies found nowhere else in the world, including this one. This species in particular is fairly new to science, having only just been described in 2017.

Image © Arpitha Jayanth, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC) (image cropped and rotated from source)

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Today's lanternfly of the day is one of the largest lanternfies, Pyrops sultanus. The species has a wingspan of ~4 inches and the entire body and wings are often covered in a fine white waxy powder. It is endemic to Borneo where it is unmistakable and relatively common.

Image © budak, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC) (Image cropped and rotated from original)

This species is the largest Pyrops and only one other species in Asia is larger, Zanna nobilis (about 4.5 inches)

Outside of Asia, there are a handful of species in the genus Fulgora which are quite enormous, 5-6 inches, found from Mexico to South America

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Today's lanternfly of the day is Pyrops candelaria. The genus Pyrops includes about 60-70 species, all native to southeast Asia and the Malay archipelago, and I thought it'd make sense to kick off this series with the first one ever described. Most Pyrops are narrowly endemic to specific islands but this species is very common in continental southeast Asia. Look at that snout!

Image © Sterling Sheehy, some rights reserved (CC-BY)

The species also has beautiful yellow hindwings! But at rest these are usually hidden.