bee moth


noun
  1. a brownish pyralid moth, Galleria mellonella, the larvae of which feed on the honeycombs in beehives.

Origin of bee moth

1
An Americanism dating back to 1820–30

Words Nearby bee moth

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use bee moth in a sentence

  • When Mother Bee-Moth is seen the bees rush upon her and sting her to death.

    Little Busybodies | Jeanette Augustus Marks and Julia Moody
  • Nuova thought her fate was to be that of bee moth's, and it really seemed so for a moment.

    Nuova | Vernon Kellogg
  • But why didn't you shout out about the bee moth when you first saw her?

    Nuova | Vernon Kellogg
  • Hundreds are caught in this way, although many other kinds besides the bee-moth will be mixed with them.

  • It has been found very difficult to preserve comb from the bee-moth, when it is taken from the bees.

British Dictionary definitions for bee moth

bee moth

noun
  1. any of various pyralid moths, such as the wax moth, whose larvae live in the nests of bees or wasps, feeding on nest materials and host larvae

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012