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The most exciting arrival at the sheet, well actually about five feet above the snoozing lizard, was a peanut-headed lantern fly, Fulgora lanternaria. According to Dan Janzen and Charles Hogue in Costa Rican Natural History, this beast is well known "because of the folk saying that if a girl is stung by a machaca, she must go to bed with her boyfriend within twenty-four hours or she will die." Obviously, there is no truth to this since the insect has no stinger, nor does it bite. It is closely related to planthoppers and cicadas.
There is also a widely held belief that the light is emitted from the head although know one has ever seen it. Interestingly, no one has ever reported seeing immature specimens in Costa Rica. Janzen and Hogue report that it is most commonly seen on Hymenaea courbaril or guapinol and suspect the immatures are either high in branches or feeding on roots. Edgar took me to all of the trees in the immediate area where he has previously seen them but none were to be found.
The animal is well camouflaged in its resting state. If pushed, the large eyespots on the hind wings are exposed. Like those on many silk moths, these serve as protection from predators who mistake them for eyes of a much larger animal.
When I sent word about my trip to colleagues around the country asking them what Costa Rican species they would like to see available for sale, the machaca was at the top of the list for most respondents. A local breeder might do well to learn more about the life history of this interesting insect.
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