insectivorous

American  

[in-sek-tiv-er-uhs] / ˌɪn sɛkˈtɪv ər əs /

adjective

1. feeding on insects, especially when they constitute the entire diet, as in the case of many arachnids, birds, and small mammals.

2. Botany. having specialized leaves or leaf parts capable of trapping and digesting insects, as the Venus flytrap, the pitcher plants, and the sundews.

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insectivorous British  

/ ˌɪnsɛkˈtɪvərəs /

adjective

1. feeding on or adapted for feeding on insects

   insectivorous plants

2. of or relating to the order Insectivora

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Usage

See entomophagy.

Other Word Forms

• insectivory noun

Etymology

Origin of insectivorous

First recorded in 1655–65; from New Latin insectivorus, equivalent to insect ( def. ) + -i- ( def. ) + -vorous ( def. )

Example Sentences

A naked mole rat is seen in a display enclosure of a new building for small mammals, birds, carnivorous plants and insectivorous animals at the zoological-botanical garden in Stuttgart.

From Salon • May 11, 2025

"We think bats probably evolved from a small, tree-dwelling, insectivorous mammal," Jones said.

From Reuters • Apr. 13, 2023

The main thing is the species that we’re getting: the regular nets are missing a lot of the insectivorous bats that we normally see very rarely.

From Scientific American • Apr. 21, 2022

The ancestral virus probably resided in a bat, possibly a horseshoe bat, belonging to a genus of small, insectivorous creatures with horseshoe-shaped noses, which commonly carry coronaviruses.

From National Geographic • Jan. 14, 2021

This honey-dew must not be confounded with the normal viscidity of certain insectivorous plants—e.g.

From Disease in Plants by Ward, H. Marshall