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Glite Dictionary
jumping plant louse

jumping plant louse

9.9
A small insect with strong back legs that jumps and feeds on plant juices
  • noun
  • /ˈdʒʌmpɪŋ plænt laʊs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : pulgón saltador
  • I noticed jumping plant lice hopping around the leaves of my houseplants.

Examples

  • The garden was infested with jumping plant lice that damaged many of the shrubs.

  • Experts say that controlling jumping plant lice can be challenging due to their jumping abilities.

  • Psyllids are also called jumping plant lice because the highly active adults, which resemble miniature cicadas, jump between leaves and plants when alarmed.

    Academic text (1997)

Synonyms

psyllid
vsjumping plant louse
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A small jumping insect that feeds on plant juices and damages plants

is the same but functions as a plain descriptive name rather than the other term
psylla
vsjumping plant louse
  • Specialized
9.9

A small jumping insect that sucks plant juice and can damage fruit trees

is the descriptive phrase rather than the alternate name form

Surface Forms

jumping plant louse singular
jumping plant lice plural

Morphology

jump + plant + louse

The noun phrase is fully compositional: 'jumping' (able to leap) modifies 'plant louse' (a louse that lives on or feeds from plants), so the overall meaning 'a plant-feeding louse that jumps' is directly derivable from the constituents. This adjective+noun compound follows regular English composition patterns and similar constructions exist cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows the words would readily understand it.

Etymology

Jumping plant louse is the name for a very small insect that lives on plants, feeds on their sap, and uses strong back legs to jump away. The name gives a clear picture: a 'louse' meaning 'small pest' on a 'plant' that 'jumps', so the words describe what the insect is and does today.