ichneumon fly

American  

[ik-noo-muhn-flahy, ‐-nyoo‐] / ɪkˈnu mənˌflaɪ, ‐ˈnju‐ /

Or ichneumonfly

noun

1. any of numerous wasplike insects of the family Ichneumonidae, the larvae of which are parasitic on caterpillars and immature stages of other insects.

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ichneumon fly British  

noun

1. any hymenopterous insect of the family Ichneumonidae, whose larvae are parasitic in caterpillars and other insect larvae

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Etymology

Origin of ichneumon fly

First recorded in 1705–15

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ichneumon fly

"It's my belief," shouted Quint, "that you want that medal yourself, and that you put an ichneumon fly in my breeding-cage in hopes it would sting the eggs of the Silver Moon."

From Police!!! by Hutt, Henry

It is a ghoulish and ogreish idea, but it really seems as if the elder Milton quartered his progeny upon his debtors, as the ichneumon fly quarters hers upon caterpillars.

From Life of John Milton by Garnett, Richard

But the conduct of the ant, and of some species of the ichneumon fly in the incubation of their eggs, is equal to any exertion of human science.

From Zoonomia, Vol. I Or, the Laws of Organic Life by Darwin, Erasmus

I examined numbers of them, and found the scarlet egg of the ichneumon fly under many of the shards.

From Through the Mackenzie Basin A Narrative of the Athabasca and Peace River Treaty Expedition of 1899 by Mair, Charles

There are two species of spiders and a species of ichneumon fly that destroy them.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 803, May 23, 1891 by Various