potato beetle
1
4.8
- noun
- /pəˈteɪtoʊ ˈbiːtəl/
:
escarabajo de la patata
- Colorado potato beetles, which devour foliage on potatoes, tomatoes, and eggplants, resist most insecticides.
- Colorado potato beetle
Examples
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Things like squash, vine bores, things like aphids, potato beetles, these these pests that seek out specific plants as their host.
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The Colorado potato beetle lays its eggs on the leaves of potato plants.
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Farmers often report seeing potato beetles in their fields shortly after planting.
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To protect crops, it is important to monitor for the presence of potato beetles throughout the growing season.
Synonyms
1
7.0
A black-and-yellow beetle that eats potato leaves when young and as an adult
1
5.7
A black and yellow beetle that eats potato leaves
1
7.5
A small insect with black and yellow stripes that eats potato leaves and harms crops
A black and yellow beetle that eats potato leaves
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a beetle that feeds on potato plants' is directly and compositionally derived from 'potato' + 'beetle' as a standard noun–noun compound denoting a type of beetle associated with potatoes. This straightforward classificatory pattern is common across languages and should be immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.
Etymology
Potato beetle comes from the insect that eats potato plants. The bright, striped beetle stands out on the leaves, so people noticed it on potato crops. That's why the name means 'a beetle that eats potato plants'.