social insect
1
4.0
- noun
- /ˈsoʊʃəl ˈɪnsekt/
- Specialized
:
insecto social
- The biology of social insects—ants, bees, termites, and wasps—is fascinating in its own right.
- social insects such as ants
- bees and other social insects
- other social insects
Sort of like ants in a colony, I suppose, or other social insects of, of that sort, right?
- Sort of like ants in a colony, I suppose, or other social insects of, of that sort, right?
- And that that's my special, you know, is studying social insects and related creatures that have have high levels of social behavior.
Examples
-
Social insects like fire ants use semiochemicals to communicate with each other and influence activities.
Academic text (2003) -
Ants and honeybees are examples of social insects that work together in organized colonies.
-
And they call them social insects.
Fiction book (1998) -
Instead, engineers are looking for clues in the behavior of social insects.
Academic text (2009) -
Division of labor in social insects is organized around nutrition and reproduction.
Academic text (2018) -
If you're like many other nature lovers, you probably thought of the social insects, such as ants and wasps.
Academic text (2007) -
Instinct must be stereotyped and inflexible, as demonstrated by social insects such as ants and bees.
Academic text (1998) -
Honey bees, as social insects with thousands of residents per colony, store large amounts of honey—an inviting target for other animals like bears.
Academic text (1994) -
The study of social insects like termites reveals complex communication and cooperation among their members.
-
Research shows that social insects exhibit advanced behavior, including division of labor and collective decision-making.
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun phrase is directly compositional: 'social' (relating to communal behavior) modifies 'insect', so the meaning is simply an insect that lives or behaves socially (e.g., ants, bees). This adjective+noun pattern is cross-linguistically common and follows standard English composition, so a B1 learner who knows both words can readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Social insect comes from the plain idea of an insect that is social and lives with others. Imagine ants or bees in a busy nest all helping each other—so the phrase means 'an insect that lives and works in a group'.