entomophilous

American  

[en-tuh-mof-uh-luhs] / ˌɛn təˈmɒf ə ləs /

adjective

1. pollinated by or having spores distributed by insects.

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entomophilous British  

/ ˌɛntəˈmɒfɪləs /

adjective

1. (of flowering plants) pollinated by insects Compare anemophilous

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entomophilous Scientific  

/ ĕn′tə-mŏf′ə-ləs /

1. Pollinated by insects.

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Other Word Forms

• entomophily
  noun

Etymology

Origin of entomophilous

First recorded in 1875–80; entomo- + -philous

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

entomophilous

Poterium sanguisorba is anemophilous; and Sanguisorba officinalis presumably was so formerly, but has reacquired an entomophilous habit; the whole tribe Poterieae being, in fact, a degraded group which has descended from Potentilleae.

From Darwinism (1889) by Alfred Russel Wallace

The entomophilous ancestry of Pringlea is clearly shown by the occasional remnants of coloured markings in the petals, like those which in other flowers serve as finger-posts to visiting-insects, and are called nectar-guides.

From Springtime and Other Essays by Sir Francis Darwin

The larger proportion of entomophilous genera in this latter class is probably the indirect result of insects having the power of carrying pollen to another and sometimes distant plant much more securely than the wind.

From Effects of Cross and Self Fertilisation in the Vegetable Kingdom by Charles Darwin

There is no great difficulty in understanding how an anemophilous plant might have been rendered entomophilous.

From Effects of Cross and Self Fertilisation in the Vegetable Kingdom by Charles Darwin

All the species hitherto mentioned which produce cleistogamic flowers are entomophilous; but four genera, Juncus, Hordeum, Cryptostachys, and Leersia are anemophilous.

From The Different Forms of Flowers on Plants of the Same Species by Charles Darwin