Bacillus thuringiensis

[ thoo-rin-jee-en-sis ]

noun

1. a bacterium used in genetically altered form in the biological control of budworms, gypsy moth larvae, Japanese beetles, and other insect pests. : B.t.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Bacillus thuringiensis¹

< New Latin (1915): Thuringian bacillus; so named in reference to its discovery in larvae of Mediterranean flour moths from a mill in Thuringia