The lantern fly is a brightly-coloured insect that resembles a moth. It has long, hollow projection on the front of its head that looks like a snout.

In some species, the snout is inflated and is as big as the rest of the insect and in others, the snout is long, narrow and upturned.

Not much is known about the life history of the lantern fly. But we do know that it lays its eggs in the tissues of plants.

A lantern fly is not very common, and hence cannot be found in large numbers. But it is most often spotted during the rains. Like most other bugs, a lantern fly also feeds on plant juice.

The lantern fly emits a bright light from its bladder on the head, which is almost as large as its body. The natives of Guinea use them as lanterns. It is said that the light given out by the fly is sufficient for reading a newspaper.