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sawfly

American

[saw-flahy] / ˈsɔˌflaɪ /

noun

plural

sawflies

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.

sawfly British

/ ˈsɔːˌflaɪ /

noun

any of various hymenopterous insects of the family Tenthredinidae and related families, the females of which have a sawlike ovipositor

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of sawfly

First recorded in 1765–75; saw ¹ + fly ¹

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.

"Also, I could mention sawfly larvae that lived in leaves and created tunnels in them as they ate their way through the thin layer of the leaf interior."

From Science Daily • Dec. 21, 2023

When it does snow, it melts in a few days, and drought conditions have allowed the hemlock sawfly, which feeds on the foliage, to thrive.

From Salon • Feb. 5, 2023

About now in the Northeast, you may witness the geometrically patterned larvae of the dogwood sawfly chewing on Cornus foliage.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 2, 2022

Of all these small burrowers, the voracious shrews find and consume the largest number of sawfly cocoons.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Enemies: The larch is subject to the attacks of a sawfly, which has killed many trees of the American species.

From Studies of Trees by Levison, Jacob Joshua

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023