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Glite Dictionary
brown lacewing

brown lacewing

8.4
A small brown insect with thin wings whose larvae eat aphids
  • noun
translation icon : mosca de encaje marrón
  • The brown lacewing is a beneficial insect often found in gardens, where it helps control aphid populations.

Examples

  • Farmers encourage the presence of brown lacewings as a natural method of pest management.

  • I spotted a brown lacewing resting on the window last night.

  • The brown lacewing is often found in gardens.

  • Many gardeners appreciate the brown lacewing for its pest control.

  • Farmers encourage the presence of brown lacewings as a natural method of pest management.

  • The brown lacewing is a beneficial insect often found in gardens, where it helps control aphid populations.

  • I spotted a brown lacewing resting on the window last night.

Synonyms

lacewing
vsbrown lacewing
1 8.9

A small insect with thin, net-like wings whose young eat aphids and other garden pests

is the specific dark family member often named for its brown color
hemerobiid
vsbrown lacewing
  • Specialized
9.9

A small insect with thin wings whose young eat plant pests like aphids

is the color-based common name rather than the family name
hemerobiid fly
vsbrown lacewing
  • Specialized
9.9

A small brown fly with delicate wings that eats pests like aphids

is the single-word color-focused common name instead of a compound label
lacewing fly
vsbrown lacewing
7.3

A small delicate insect with thin net-like wings whose young eat garden pests like aphids

is limited to the single dark family and emphasizes brown coloring

Surface Forms

brown lacewing singular
brown lacewings plural

Morphology

brown + lacewing

This is a straightforward adjective + noun composition: 'brown' names a color and 'lacewing' names the insect, so the phrase simply denotes a lacewing that is brown. The meaning follows a common cross-linguistic pattern of color modification and is immediately derivable by a B1 learner who knows both constituents.

Etymology

Brown lacewing gets its name from how it looks: it is small and brown, and its thin wings have a fine pattern like lace, so people called it a lacewing. That's why the name refers to a small, helpful insect that 'eats pests like aphids'.