tenebrionid

9.9

A hard, dark beetle whose young eat dead plants or stored grain

noun
/ˌtɛnəˈbrɪəniˌd/

Specialized

: tenebriónido

The larvae of the tenebrionid beetle are commonly known as mealworms.

Examples

Researchers studied several species of tenebrionid in the desert ecosystem.
A tenebrionid can often be found under rocks or decaying logs.
A tenebrionid beetle crawled across the table.
Many tenebrionids are found in dry habitats.
A tenebrionid beetle is often found in deserts, where it feeds on decaying plant matter.
Researchers studied a tenebrionid that plays a crucial role in breaking down organic material.
In the garden, a tenebrionid beetle crawled across the ground, searching for food among the leaves.

Synonyms

beetle

vstenebrionid

95 1.0

A small insect with hard front wings that cover its back and a mouth for chewing

is the specific family label for dark, hard coloured beetles

darkling beetle

vstenebrionid

1 9.1

A dark, hard-bodied beetle whose young often eat dead plants or stored grain

is the family member term covering such dark, hard-bodied beetles

darkling ground beetle

vstenebrionid

9.5

A slow hard-bodied black beetle that lives on the ground whose young eat rotting plants or stored grain

is the family term used more generally, not only for ground forms

Surface Forms

tenebrionid singular

tenebrionids plural

Morphology

tenebrionid = tenebrion + id

Formed from the scientific stem 'tenebrion-' (a taxonomic/Latin stem) plus the family/member suffix '-id'; the stem is not a productive standalone English word and the meaning is specialized, so learners cannot derive the sense from common English vocabulary.

Etymology

Tenebrionid comes from the Latin root tenebrae, meaning 'darkness', and the ending -id, meaning 'a member of a group'. So a tenebrionid is a 'member' of a group of mostly dark, hard-bodied beetles often found under rocks, logs, or in rotting plants.