sawfly
noun
any of numerous hymenopterous insects of the family Tenthredinidae, the female of which has a sawlike ovipositor for inserting the eggs in the tissues of a host plant.
sawflies
-
pluralof sawfly.plural
The grammatical form denoting more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
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.
The tiny creatures that excavate a leaf’s epidermal layers to feed themselves are larvae from some 50 families of moths, flies, beetles and sawflies.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 2, 2022
Eiseman is working on a guide to the larvae of sawflies — the most primitive group of Hymenoptera, the relatives of ants, bees and wasps.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 2, 2022
Songbirds, snow geese, otters, herons, pelicans, snakes, mink, raccoon, northern leopard frogs, sawflies, and trumpeter swans, to start.
From Slate ● Sep. 5, 2018
In some Canadian forests a virus that affects pine sawflies has proved so effective in control that it has replaced insecticides.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
Among such insects are the sawflies, so-called because the female has a saw-shaped ovipositor with which she slits open the needles of evergreen trees in order to deposit her eggs.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
