An animal that is not a chicken but is called "Dragon Eye Chicken"

In the south, there lives an animal that is not a chicken but is called the "longan chicken". It is an insect and is even called the "most beautiful insect in the south". It has an "elephant trunk" and is covered in "peacock patterns" , very popular in the world of collectors and naughty children... I often saw it when I was a child, but I couldn't name it. So today we will get to know the insect "Longing an elephant trunk and wearing a peacock pattern" .

Longan chicken (Fulfura candelaria) is also known as longan moth and long-nosed wax cicada. It is an arthropod, class Insecta, order Homoptera, family Acanthidae, and genus Oriental Acanthus. It mostly inhabits the branches of fruit trees such as longan and lychee. It is distributed in Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Yunnan and other provinces. The official name of this species recorded in the Economic Entomology of China is Longan Chicken.

Such a gorgeous appearance will amaze those who see it for the first time. Among the four insect stamps issued in Hong Kong in 2000, the first one was the long-nosed wax cicada.

Compared with the "pocket body" of the general genus Cicadae, which is only about 2 centimeters, the longan chicken has a body length of about 3 centimeters, and can be called the best among the "big guys". Belonging to the Incomplete Metamorphosis Insect, the body structure of the Longan Chicken in the larval stage is roughly similar to that of the adult insect. The difference is that the adult insect grows a pair of bright wings after emerging.

As a species of Oriental wax cicada in the order Homoptera, the long-nosed wax cicada is most easily distinguished from other wax cicadas in the same genus by its fiery red long "nose". The so-called "nose" is actually the mouthparts that protrude forward and are upturned, like a mini "elephant trunk" that curves upward. In addition to the eye-catching "nose", the long-nosed wax cicada also has two pairs of brightly colored wings. The forewings are covered with a vein-like network and are dark green with many golden spots inlaid on them, just like the tail feathers of a peacock; the hind wings have a little black on the top. , the rest are translucent yellow films, like brocade, very beautiful.

In the larval stage, the longan chicken looks more like a small "wine bottle" due to the lack of wings. In order to better blend in with the surrounding environment, the body color of the larvae is gray-brown, which is very similar to the color of the tree trunk, just like the "ugly duckling" in the fairy tale.

After becoming adults, they lose their gray appearance and become one of the most charming species in the family of cicadas. The adult's head, thorax and unique proboscis (the long nose-like part at the front of the head) are reddish-brown, covered with regularly distributed white dots, and the abdomen is grey-brown. The forewings are emerald green, and the wing veins are bright fluorescent yellow. There are 14 circular spots regularly scattered on them. They are divided into two layers, the outer layer is milky white or off-white, and the inner layer is yellow.

The longan chicken seems to recreate the fairy tale of "an ugly duckling turning into a beautiful swan" through its transformation process. In the insect world, it is not uncommon for larvae to be "ugly" and adults to be "beautiful". In order to survive better, they must keep a low profile at each stage.

However, although this story seems inspiring, in the eyes of fruit farmers, they are "big thieves" who are "full of evil" in the orchard! Both the larvae and adults of the longan chicken feed on the sap of southern fruit trees such as longan, lychee, yellow peel, guava, and olive.

The longan chicken's piercing-sucking mouthparts allow it to suck sap from tree trunks, which causes fruit trees to become weak, wither and even drop fruit due to lack of nutrients. The harmful fungi they carry may also cause fruit trees to be infected with fungal diseases and induce sooty disease. In severe cases, they may even cause the death of fruit trees.

In particular, longan chicken adults and larvae have strong jumping ability and can jump from one branch to another, which expands the scope of their damage in the orchard and brings great trouble to fruit farmers.

The longan chicken is a common insect in Guangdong and can be found in fruit forests, especially longan and lychee trees. It is not afraid of people and has a gentle personality. If you encounter one in the wild, don’t forget to take a photo as a souvenir.

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