ichneumon fly

American  

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

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

Linneus describes seventy-seven species of the ichneumon fly, some of which have a sting as long and some twice as long as their bodies.

From The Temple of Nature; or, the Origin of Society A Poem, with Philosophical Notes by Darwin, Erasmus

"If you found an ichneumon fly there," retorted Boomly, "you probably hatched it in mistake for a butterfly!"

From Police!!! by Hutt, Henry

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

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

Work of an internal parasite, puss-moth larva parasitized by a small ichneumon fly 3 Fig.

From Insects and Diseases A Popular Account of the Way in Which Insects may Spread or Cause some of our Common Diseases by Doane, Rennie Wilbur