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Glite Dictionary
🦠 A tissue disease 🐛 A virus in insects
granulosis

granulosis

9.9
A virus that attacks caterpillars and makes tiny granules before killing them
  • noun
  • /ˌɡrænjʊˈloʊsɪs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : granulosis
  • The granulosis virus can cause significant mortality in caterpillars, affecting populations of moths and butterflies.

Examples

  • Researchers are studying the effects of granulosis on the larvae of various moth species to understand its impact on pest control.

  • And Indian meal moths selected to resist granulosis virus have fewer offspring than the moths that carry no such immunity.

    Academic text (2003)

  • Control measures against the granulosis virus are essential for managing moth populations in agricultural settings.

Surface Forms

granulosis singular
granuloses plural

Morphology

granulosis = granule (opaque) = granul + osis

Formed from 'granule' + '-osis' in a regular medical/biological way, but '-osis' is a technical suffix.

Etymology

The word granulosis comes from Latin granulum 'small grain' and the Greek ending -osis 'disease'. A helpful way to remember the insect disease granulosis is to picture caterpillars or larvae covered in tiny grains, because the virus makes small granule-like bodies that often kill them.