Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

401 results found

cankerworm

(Encyclopedia)cankerworm, name for two destructive inchworms, or larvae of geometrid moths. The spring cankerworm (Paleacrita vernata) and the fall cankerworm (Alsophila pometaria) are named for the seasons at whic...

wasp

(Encyclopedia)wasp, name applied to many winged insects of the order Hymenoptera, which also includes ants and bees. Most wasps are carnivorous, feeding on insects, grubs, or spiders. They have biting mouthparts, a...

boll weevil

(Encyclopedia)boll weevil or cotton boll weevil bōl [key], cotton-eating weevil, or snout beetle, Anthonomus grandis. Probably of Mexican or Central American origin, it appeared in Texas about 1892 and spread to m...

froghopper

(Encyclopedia)froghopper or spittlebug, small, hopping insect of the order Homoptera. The adult, under 1⁄2 in. (1.2 cm) long in most species, is triangular in shape and usually gray or dull green to brown. Most f...

Japanese beetle

(Encyclopedia)Japanese beetle, common name for a destructive beetle, Popillia japonica, of the scarab beetle family. Accidentally imported to the United States from Japan, it was first discovered in New Jersey in 1...

sawfly

(Encyclopedia)sawfly, common name for insects of several families of the order Hymenoptera, which also includes the ants, wasps, and bees. Sawflies are named for the two sawtoothed blades of the female's ovipositor...

cicada

(Encyclopedia)cicada sĭkāˈdə [key], large, noise-producing insect of the order Homoptera, with a stout body, a wide, blunt head, protruding eyes, and two pairs of membranous wings. The front wings, which are lo...

gypsy moth

(Encyclopedia)gypsy moth, common name for a moth, Lymantria dispar, of the tussock moth family, native to Europe and Asia. Its caterpillars, or larvae, defoliate deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs. Introduced...

Hessian fly

(Encyclopedia)Hessian fly, European gall gnat, Phytophaga destructor, so named because it was first observed in America shortly after the Hessian troops landed on Long Island in the American Revolution. It is one o...

squash bug

(Encyclopedia)squash bug, name for a true bug, Anasa tristis, found throughout the United States and S Canada. It damages squash, pumpkin, and related plants by sucking the juices from leaves and stems. The adult i...