Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Any of numerous hymenopteran insects of the suborder Symphyta, the females of which have sawlike ovipositors used for cutting into plant tissue to deposit their eggs, and the plant-feeding larvae of which sometimes damage crops and trees.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun An American saw-fly, Schizocerus privatus, whose larvæ live on sweet-potato leaves.
- noun A hymenopterous insect of the family Tenthredinidæ, so called from the peculiar construction of the ovipositor (saw or terebra), with which they cut or pierce plants. Two plates of this instrument have serrate or toothed edges.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Zoöl.) Any one of numerous species of hymenopterous insects belonging to the family
Tenthredinidæ . The female usually has an ovipositor containing a pair of sawlike organs with which she makes incisions in the leaves or stems of plants in which to lay the eggs. The larvæ resemble those of Lepidoptera.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Any of various flying
insects of the suborder Symphyta whoseovipositor is long and often serrated and is used to cut into plants to lay eggs.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun insect whose female has a saw-like ovipositor for inserting eggs into the leaf or stem tissue of a host plant
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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I call a sawfly, 'I said very patiently,' is a red animal, like a daddy-longlegs, but not so big, perhaps an inch long, perhaps less.
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While the sawfly has been a problem in this area for a number of years, last year was the perfect storm for the insect, "she said.
unknown title 2009
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Also present are oak sawfly larvae, many-legged and like milky translucent sausages: their green diet is mistily visible, and their skin armed with black, curved spines.
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Working toward a theory on galling sawfly population dynamics.
Introduction to Arctic Tundra and Polar Desert Ecosystems 2009
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A diprionid sawfly (Neodiprion sertifer) is the most serious defoliator of pine forests in northern Europe.
Climate change and insects as a forest disturbance in the Arctic 2009
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In boreal Alaska, a larch sawfly outbreak killed most of the larger and older tamarack (Larix laricina) trees during a warm period in the decade of the 1990s, and aspen leaf miner (Phyllocnistis populiella) appeared at outbreak levels (142,000 ha) by 2003 [28].
Climate change and insects as a forest disturbance in the Arctic 2009
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The mapped area of forest affected by spruce budworm, spruce coneworm (Dioryctria reniculelloides), and larch sawfly (Pristiphora erichsonii) defoliation mapped throughout Interior Alaska increased, totaling over 300,000 ha of combined infestations during the period 1991 to 1996 [25].
Climate change and insects as a forest disturbance in the Arctic 2009
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In northern whitecedar swamps, the needle-chomping larch sawfly is often present in large numbers, feeding many a swamp bird and its young.
The Field Guide to Wildlife Habitats of the Eastern United States Janine M. Benyus 1989
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In northern whitecedar swamps, the needle-chomping larch sawfly is often present in large numbers, feeding many a swamp bird and its young.
The Field Guide to Wildlife Habitats of the Eastern United States Janine M. Benyus 1989
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In northern whitecedar swamps, the needle-chomping larch sawfly is often present in large numbers, feeding many a swamp bird and its young.
The Field Guide to Wildlife Habitats of the Eastern United States Janine M. Benyus 1989
madmouth commented on the word sawfly
your plum pudding sawfly nice, Marilla
August 12, 2009