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sawfly

Pronunciation:  'so`flI

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WordNet Dictionary
 
 Definition: [n]  insect whose female has a saw-like ovipositor for inserting eggs into the leaf or stem tissue of a host plant
 
 See Also: birch leaf miner, family Tenthredinidae, Fenusa pusilla, hymenopter, hymenopteran, hymenopteron, hymenopterous insect, Tenthredinidae

 

 

Webster's 1913 Dictionary
 
 Definition: 
\Saw"fly`\, n. (Zo["o]l.)
Any one of numerous species of hymenopterous insects
belonging to the family {Tenthredinid[ae]}. 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 larv[ae] resemble those
of Lepidoptera.

 



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