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apivorous

apivorous

9.9
An animal that eats bees such as honeybees
  • adjective
  • /ˌeɪpɪˈvɔrəs/
  • Specialized
: apivoro
  • The honey buzzard is an apivorous bird known for raiding beehives.

Examples

  • Some mammals exhibit apivorous behavior during times when bees are abundant.

  • Some species of wasps are known to be apivorous.

  • Researchers observed that the bat's diet was primarily apivorous in certain regions.

  • The apivorous bird was spotted near the beehive.

  • The honey buzzard is an apivorous bird known for raiding beehives.

  • Researchers observed that the bat's diet was primarily apivorous in certain regions.

  • Some mammals exhibit apivorous behavior during times when bees are abundant.

Surface Forms

apivorous positive

Morphology

apivorous = api + vor + ous

The word is built from classical combining forms api- 'bee' and vor- 'eat' plus adjectival -ous, but this pattern is not transparent to most B1 learners.

Etymology

Apivorous comes from the root api- meaning 'bee' and the ending -vorous meaning 'eating', as in apiary and carnivorous. So an apivorous animal is one that eats bees.