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Glite Dictionary
ant cow

ant cow

9.9
A small insect that makes sweet drops for ants and ants protect it
  • noun
  • /ænt kaʊ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : pulgón
  • The aphid, often called an ant cow, is protected by ants in exchange for its honeydew.

Examples

  • Gardeners sometimes notice lines of ants attending to ant cows on rose bushes.

  • Some species of ant cow are essential for the diet of forest-dwelling ants.

  • The ant cow produces sweet honeydew.

  • Have you seen an ant cow before?

  • Gardeners sometimes notice lines of ants attending to ant cows on rose bushes.

  • The aphid, often called an ant cow, is protected by ants in exchange for its honeydew.

  • Some species of ant cow are essential for the diet of forest-dwelling ants.

Synonyms

aphid
vsant cow
14 5.6

A small insect that sucks sap from plants and often damages them

is protected and tended by small insects that eat its sweet excretion

Surface Forms

ant cow singular
ant cows plural

Morphology

ant + cow

The compound relies on a metaphorical extension of 'cow' as a producer/provider (cows produce milk) applied to an insect that excretes a sweet substance for ants; this relational logic can be partially guessed by learners who know the constituents. However, understanding requires specific world knowledge (that certain insects produce 'honeydew' and are tended by ants) and the use is not a straightforward compositional naming, so the meaning is not fully predictable to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Ant cow may come from the idea that tiny insects were like cows to ants, because ants 'milk' them for a sweet liquid and protect them. That's why ant cow means an insect that gives a sweet liquid and is cared for by ants.