ambrosia beetle
nounDefinition of ambrosia beetle
: any of various small wood-boring beetles (family Scolytidae) that cultivate a fungus on which they feed and raise their larvae
Examples of ambrosia beetle in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Legions of professional entomologists fret about sawflies, ambrosia beetles, scale insects and leafhoppers. — Adrian Higgins, Washington Post, "Learning to live with — even enjoy — insects in the garden," 7 Aug. 2019 As scary as their numbers may be, these strange bugs aren't damaging to the Everglades' natural balance as nonnative species like the tiny Redbay ambrosia beetle is. — Adriana Brasileiro, orlandosentinel.com, "Monster grasshoppers swarm Everglades," 19 July 2019 So for ambrosia beetles, the smell of ethanol isn’t just a sign that a tree is stressed or dying. — Science | AAAS, "Ambrosia beetles nurture their gardens of fungus with alcohol," 9 Apr. 2018 To find out why, researchers took a closer to look at the black stem borer (pictured), an ambrosia beetle native to Asia that has become a tree-boring pest in North America. — Science | AAAS, "Ambrosia beetles nurture their gardens of fungus with alcohol," 9 Apr. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ambrosia beetle.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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