medfly
Americannoun
-
medflies
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of medfly
First recorded in 1930–35; by shortening
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The drops will repeat every three to four days for two medfly life cycles, which typically last four to six months, dependent on the weather, according to officials.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2023
Compare this example to the case of the citrus-eating medfly, a pest that scientists also tried to control by releasing sterile males in the early 2000s.
From Slate ● Nov. 14, 2011
These simple measures had a big impact on the programs, which have successfully controlled medfly outbreaks in North and South America.
From Slate ● Nov. 14, 2011
The creation of sterile males is a strategy that has long been used to control insect pests, such as the Mediterranean fruitfly, or medfly, in countries including the United States.
From Scientific American ● Aug. 8, 2011
Nothing quite so theatrical has been attempted during the latest medfly visitation, which began five months ago.
From Time Magazine Archive
The operation was kicked off after the discovery of three Mediterranean fruit flies, or medflies, last month.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2023
In 1980, state and federal agencies mounted an eradication operation after an outbreak of medflies in the Santa Clara Valley southeast of San Francisco.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2023
Just like mosquitoes, mass-reared medflies initially lost out to their wild peers.
From Slate ● Nov. 14, 2011
For evolution in the mating behavior of laboratory populations of medflies, see Rodriguero, M. S. et al.
From New York Times ● Apr. 13, 2010
Malathion spraying, the agency argues, is a necessary supplement to "biotechnical control," which consists of releasing 140 million sterile male medflies weekly into infested areas to disrupt the insects' prodigious reproduction.
From Time Magazine Archive
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
