SAWFLY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does sawfly mean? 

• SAWFLY (noun)
  The noun SAWFLY has 1 sense:

1. insect whose female has a saw-like ovipositor for inserting eggs into the leaf or stem tissue of a host plant

  Familiarity information: SAWFLY used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SAWFLY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Insect whose female has a saw-like ovipositor for inserting eggs into the leaf or stem tissue of a host plant

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("sawfly" is a kind of...):

hymenopter; hymenopteran; hymenopteron; hymenopterous insect (insects having two pairs of membranous wings and an ovipositor specialized for stinging or piercing)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sawfly"):

birch leaf miner; Fenusa pusilla (small black sawfly native to Europe but established in eastern United States; larvae mine the leaves of birches causing serious defoliation)

Holonyms ("sawfly" is a member of...):

family Tenthredinidae; Tenthredinidae (sawflies)