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corn borer

American

noun

any of several pyralid moths, as Pyrausta (ostrinia ) nubilalis European corn borer, the larvae of which bore into the stem and crown of corn and other plants.

corn borer British

noun

the larva of the pyralid moth Pyrausta nubilalis, native to S and Central Europe: in E North America a serious pest of maize

"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 corn borer

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

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See Examples For:

corn borer

In 1996, U.S. regulators approved corn that was genetically engineered to produce bug-killing proteins, accomplished by inserting a bacterium hostile to the corn borer insect into the plant genome.

From Reuters ● Sep. 27, 2017

Whereas Bt corn tailored to destroy European corn borer kills 99.9 percent or more of pests, Bt corn engineered to eradicate rootworm is less reliably lethal, killing 85 to 98 percent of the larvae.

From Scientific American ● Sep. 3, 2013

MON810 produces a toxin that protects it from the European corn borer.

From Science Magazine ● May 22, 2012

Spain grew 80 percent of the biotech corn, intended to resist a pest called the corn borer, produced in Europe last year.

From New York Times ● Jul. 8, 2010

The repellant effect of bursts of ultrasonic sound is being tested in Canada against corn borer and cutworm moths.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

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