white-fringed beetle

American

[hwahyt-frinjd, wahyt-] / ˈʰwaɪtˌfrɪndʒd, ˈwaɪt- /

noun

any of several weevils of the genus Graphognathus, native to South America and now of southeastern and mid-Atlantic U.S., whose larvae feed on roots and cause serious damage to a wide variety of plants.

Etymology

Origin of white-fringed beetle

First recorded in 1935–40

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white-fringed beetle

And the dosage of dieldrin and heptachlor was heavier — 2 pounds to the acre under most conditions, or 3 pounds of dieldrin if the white-fringed beetle was also to be controlled.

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