Fulgora laternaria
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Fulgora laternaria (often misspelled "lanternaria") is a species of Neotropical fulgorid planthopper. It is known by a large variety of common names, among them lantern fly, peanut bug, peanut-headed lanternfly, alligator bug, jequitiranaboia, machaca, chicharra-machacuy, and cocoposa.
Fulgora laternaria can reach a length of 85–90 millimetres (3.3–3.5 in), with a wingspan up to 100–150 millimetres (3.9–5.9 in). This insect has a protuberance at its head as long as 10–15 millimetres (0.39–0.59 in), looking like a peanut and showing false eyes to resemble that of a lizard or a serpent. The insect was originally - and mistakenly - believed to be luminescent. When attacked, it protects itself by displaying large, yellow, fake eyes on its hind wings to frighten the aggressor, and releases a foul-smelling substance. Adults can be found from June to December. They feed on the sap of plants, mainly from some trees as Hymenaea courbaril, Simarouba amara and Zanthoxylum species. It will generally remain camouflaged on a tree trunk during the day.
It will knock its head on a hollow tree to create vibrations for mates. It will lay its eggs on the Hymenaea courbaril or quapinol... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Rosa National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Carara National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Peanut-Headed Lanternfly sighting in Carara National Park on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 74th most-seen of the 83 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Peanut-Headed Lanternfly in Carara National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May and July–February, the lowest months. That is one of Carara National Park's driest months, with about 65 mm of rain against 730 mm in October.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Peanut-Headed Lanternfly sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Peanut-Headed Lanternfly sightings, Carara National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Santa Rosa National Park (Costa Rica, about 20%).
Same order: Hemiptera
The closest relatives of the Peanut-Headed Lanternfly that you can see in Carara National Park (order Hemiptera, True Bugs, Hoppers, Aphids, and allies) are Leptoscelis conspicuus (about 10%), Leptoscelis quadrisignatus (about 10%) and Hypselonotus interruptus (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Peanut-Headed Lanternfly is recorded against all the insects logged in Carara National Park (5 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
