sheep gadfly
- noun
- Specialized
:
mosca de las ovejas
- In summer, heavy infestations of sheep gadflies forced farmers to treat their flocks quickly.
Examples
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Veterinarians recommend regular inspection to detect larvae from the sheep gadfly before severe damage occurs.
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The farmer explained how a single sheep gadfly infestation had reduced wool quality across the flock.
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The sheep gadfly can cause significant discomfort to livestock.
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Farmers often worry about the impact of sheep gadflies on their herds.
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In summer, heavy infestations of sheep gadflies forced farmers to treat their flocks quickly.
-
Veterinarians recommend regular inspection to detect larvae from the sheep gadfly before severe damage occurs.
-
The farmer explained how a single sheep gadfly infestation had reduced wool quality across the flock.
Synonyms
A large fly whose young live inside sheep and cause sickness
A small fly whose young live inside sheep's noses and harm them
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound 'sheep gadfly' is directly compositional: it denotes the gadfly species associated with or parasitic on sheep, so a learner who knows 'sheep' and 'gadfly' can straightforwardly infer this meaning. This noun‑noun compounding pattern is a regular, cross‑linguistic way to form subtype relationships in English, making the expression transparent to B1 learners familiar with the constituents.
Etymology
Sheep gadfly is a name for a real fly that attacks sheep. The fly lays eggs and its young crawl into the wool and skin, making the animals itch and get sick. That's why the name refers to a 'pest' that irritates and harms sheep.
