spider fly

American

noun

Angling.

an artificial fly having a hackle body, little or no tail, no wings, and unusually long legs, dressed to resemble a spider.

Etymology

Origin of spider fly

First recorded in 1780–90

Example Sentences

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The other insects that he studied include the spider, fly, mason-bee, bramble-bee, hunting wasp, ant, grasshopper, caterpillar, mason-wasp, weevil, glowworm, sacred beetle and other beetles.

From Time Magazine Archive

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