wax moth

noun

Words nearby wax moth

wax flower, wax gourd, wax insect, wax jack, wax light, wax moth, wax museum, wax myrtle, wax palm, wax paper, wax plant

Origin of wax moth

First recorded in 1760–70

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for wax moth

The Wax-moth tripped towards the fourth brood-frame where the young bees were busy feeding the babies.
Actions and Reactions|Rudyard Kipling
"Quite between ourselves, I taught them that," cried the Wax-moth.
Actions and Reactions|Rudyard Kipling
The little grey Wax-moth, pressed close in a crack in the alighting-board, had waited this chance all day.
Actions and Reactions|Rudyard Kipling
But the great question in bee-culture is, How to prevent the depredation of the wax-moth?
Soil Culture|J. H. Walden

One would imagine the moth to be an enemy of no consequence, but the wax-moth (Tinea mellonella) is a most formidable enemy.
A Description of the Bar-and-Frame-Hive|W. Augustus Munn

British Dictionary definitions for wax moth

wax moth

noun

a brown pyralid moth, Galleria mellonella, the larvae of which feed on the combs of beehivesAlso called: honeycomb moth, bee moth

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