Mexican bean beetle
- noun
- /ˈmɛksɪkən bin ˈbiːtəl/
- US
- The Mexican bean beetle is a common pest in gardens.
- Mexican bean beetle
Examples
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To manage the infestation of Mexican bean beetles, some farmers use organic pest control methods.
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Controlling the spread of the Mexican bean beetle is important for healthy bean harvests.
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Farmers worry about the damage caused by the Mexican bean beetle to their crops.
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The larvae of the Mexican bean beetle feed on bean leaves, causing significant defoliation.
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Farmers often struggle with Mexican bean beetles in their crops.
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Gardeners often struggle to control Mexican bean beetles, which feed on the leaves of bean plants.
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If you notice Mexican bean beetles on your plants, you should take action quickly to prevent damage.
Synonyms
A small beetle that eats the leaves of bean plants
A small beetle that eats bean leaves and damages crops
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is fully compositional: a 'beetle' (insect) that is associated with 'bean' plants and of/from 'Mexican' origin, so the meaning (a beetle that affects bean plants from Mexico) can be directly derived from the parts. This follows common noun-modifier compounding patterns found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would be able to understand it.
Etymology
Mexican bean beetle is a name that tells a little story: Mexican shows where it came from, bean shows what it eats, and beetle is the small insect. So the name means a small insect from Mexico that eats bean leaves and is often called a 'pest'.