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Glite Dictionary
Lygus lineolaris

Lygus lineolaris

9.9
A small insect in North America that damages crops like cotton and strawberries
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : Lygus lineolaris
  • The tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris, is known for damaging crops like strawberries and alfalfa.

Examples

  • In August 1993, Snodgrass discovered that tarnished plant bugs, Lygus lineolaris, had become resistant to pyrethroids, a class of insecticides commonly used to control them.

    Academic text (1999)

  • Photo (color): A tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris, on clover.

    Academic text (1999)

  • Farmers often struggle with the Lygus lineolaris as it can destroy entire fields of fruit plants.

  • To manage infestations of Lygus lineolaris, effective pest control strategies are essential in agriculture.

Synonyms

tarnished plant bug
vsLygus lineolaris
  • Specialized
9.6

A small insect that feeds on many crop and garden plants and damages fruits

is the scientific name used in formal contexts

Surface Forms

Lygus lineolaris singular
Lygus lineolarises plural

Morphology

Lygus + lineolaris

This is a Latin binomial: knowing 'Lygus' (a genus of plant-sucking bugs) lets a learner infer the expression names a kind of bug, but the species epithet 'lineolaris' is obscure/missing from the dictionary and does not transparently convey 'tarnished plant bug' or its pest status. Scientific names are compositionally predictable as 'genus + species' across languages, so a learner can infer type but not the specific common meaning, making partial transparency.

Etymology

Lygus lineolaris is the bug's Latin name. The second part, lineolaris, means 'little lines' and refers to the thin stripes on the bug's back, so the name helps people spot this common 'plant bug' pest.