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aphid Definition

aphid (āfid, afid)

noun

any of a large family (Aphididae) of small, soft-bodied homopteran insects that suck the juice from plants; plant louse

Etymology: < ModL aphis (pl. aphides); first applied by Carolus Linnaeus prob. < MGr, misreading of Gr koris, a bug

aphid Related Forms

aphid·ian (ə fidē ən) adjective, noun

aphid Usage Examples

Converse of subject

transmit: In addition, strain HA 5-1 was only poorly transmitted by aphids.

Converse of object

  • eat: These wasps then eat harmful cabbage aphids which may be feeding on the plants.
  • kill: A natural fungus that grows on and kills Russian wheat aphid is winding its way toward commercial application.
  • control: Prevent by controlling the aphids that carry the disease.
  • include: Biology, identification and control of the major greenhouse pests including aphids, whitefly and mites.

Adjective modifier

  • wooly: From Christine J, UK This could be wooly gray aphids.
  • green: The Gaucho is no longer able to protect him and 3 small green aphids now lurk in his foliage.
  • black: Every year, in the first really hot spell, the black bean aphid starts its regular invasion of the broad bean plants.

Modifies a noun

  • infestation: The number of larvae needed to treat an aphid infestation will vary on the number of aphids present.
  • predator: This is partly because of the presence of Cornish hedges and hedge bottoms which provide a habitat for natural aphid predators such as ladybirds.
  • colony: Adults lay batches of up to 40 eggs close to an aphid colony.
  • vector: The virus was transmitted by mechanical inoculation and also by the aphid vector Aphis gossypii.
  • pest: Lab tests found that the potatoes killed off significant numbers of the aphid pests.
  • transmission: Aphid transmission studies using Potato virus Y helper component proteins expressed from a Potato virus X vector.

Noun used with modifier

  • peach-potato: Thus, in the event of climate warming we would expect all three species to make considerably earlier appearance, particularly the peach-potato aphid.
  • spruce: Fieldwork is carried out at Radnor Forest in Wales, where Forestry Commission research into the green spruce aphid is already established.
  • pea: However, pea aphids are known to feed on a much wider range of plant species.
  • cabbage: These wasps then eat harmful cabbage aphids which may be feeding on the plants.
  • willow: Figure 4: The giant willow aphid is also found in the USA.
  • potato: The potatoes were genetically modified to include a toxin - GNA lectin - found in snowdrops to make them resistant to potato aphids.

Browse dictionary entries near aphid

  1. aphesis
  2. apheresis
  3. apheliotropism
  4. aphelion
  5. aphasia
  6. aphanite
  7. aph-
  8. Apgar score
  9. apex
  10. apetalous
  1. aphis
  2. aphis lion
  3. aphonia
  4. aphonic
  5. aphorism
  6. aphoristic
  7. aphorize
  8. aphotic
  9. aphrodisiac
  10. Aphrodite