haustellum

[haw-stel-uhm]

noun

plural

haustella 

1. (in certain crustaceans and insects) an organ or part of the proboscis adapted for sucking blood or plant juices.

haustellum

/ hɔːˈstɛləm /

noun

1. the tip of the proboscis of a housefly or similar insect, specialized for sucking food

Other Word Forms

• haustellate adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of haustellum¹

1810–20; < New Latin, diminutive of Latin haustrum scoop on a water wheel, equivalent to haus-, variant stem of haurīre to scoop up, draw + -trum suffix of instrument; for formation, castellum

Word History and Origins

Origin of haustellum¹

C19: New Latin, diminutive of Latin haustrum device for drawing water, from haurīre to draw up; see _exhaust

Example Sentences

Haustellum, haws-tel′um, n. the sucking organ or proboscis of an insect or a crustacean:—pl.

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Haustellum: a sucker: applied to that portion of the mouth of a sucking insect through which liquid food is drawn into the gullet.

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Antlia: the spiral tongue or haustellum of Lepidoptera.

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We will suppose that a change takes place in a particular orchid, that the nectary recedes to a greater distance from the point to which the insect can penetrate, and so an advantage is given to those insects in which the haustellum is of a length above the average.

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The insect derives an advantage from its increased haustellum, but what advantage does the plant derive from its retiring nectary?

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