The Lantern Fly TJie Cochineal Insect. 571 



THE LANTERN FLY. (Fulgora laternaria.) 



THIS Lantern Fly is a nocturnal insect, with a hood or 

 bladder on the head, which is semi-transparent, and very 

 curiously ornamented with red and green stripes. By 

 some writers it has been affirmed that this part of the 

 insect shines brilliantly at night, so that it is even pos- 

 sible to read by it. No modern entomologist has, how- 

 ever, witnessed this phenomenon, and it is generally 

 believed that the supposed luminosity of the Lantern 

 Fly exists only in the stories of the natives of South 

 America. The wings and whole body are elegantly 

 adorned with a mixture of red, green, yellow, and other 

 splendid colours. 



THE COCHINEAL INSECT. (Coccus cacti.) 



THE Cochineal Insect is of the same genus as the scale 

 insect on the vine, which looks like a little bit of wool 

 attached to the branch, but which, when pressed, stains 

 the fingers with a red liquid. The Cochineal Insect in 

 the like manner affixes itself to the leafy stems of the 

 nopal-tree, a kind of opuntia, or prickly-pear, common 

 in Mexico and South America, whence the Cochineal 

 used in Europe is principally imported. 



