n. (Zool.) any one of several species of large, handsome, brightly marked, tropical hemipterous insects of the genera Laternaria, Fulgora, and allies, of the family Fulgoridæ. The largest species is Laternaria phosphorea of Brazil. The head has a snoutlike process in some species which was formerly thought to emit a phosphorescent light. [ WordNet 1.5 ]