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Glite Dictionary
Asian longhorned beetle

Asian longhorned beetle

8.8
A large beetle from eastern Asia that attacks and kills hardwood trees like maple or oak
  • noun
  • /ˈeɪʒən ˈlɔŋˌhɔrnd ˈbiːtəl/
  • UK
translation icon : escarabajo longicornio asiático
  • Technician Joe Tropp examines an Asian longhorned beetle larva crawling on a poplar cutting in a test tube.

Examples

  • Invasive species like the Asian longhorned beetle pose a serious threat to forest health and biodiversity.

  • Monitoring the munching sounds made by Asian longhorned beetles (ALB) may help scientists home in on which trees are infested.

    Academic text (2000)

  • "Trees infested by the Asian longhorned beetles were first found in the United States in New York in 1996 and then in Chicago in 1998," says ARS entomologist Michael T. Smith.

    Academic text (2000)

  • The Asian longhorned beetle is notorious for causing significant damage to hardwood trees across North America.

  • Scientists are concerned about the rapid spread of the Asian longhorned beetle in urban areas, where it attacks various tree species.

Synonyms

Anoplophora glabripennis
vsAsian longhorned beetle
  • Specialized
9.9

A large black-and-white beetle from Asia that attacks and kills trees like maple and oak

is the common name while the other gives the formal scientific name

Surface Forms

Asian longhorned beetle singular
Asian longhorned beetles plural

Morphology

Asian + longhorned + beetle

The noun phrase is fully compositional: 'Asian' indicates origin, 'longhorned' is transparently a compound meaning 'having long horns/antennae' (derivable from 'long' + 'horned'), and 'beetle' is an insect. A B1 learner who knows these constituents can infer it refers to a beetle from Asia with long horns; specialized details about invasiveness are extra encyclopedic information but do not affect the basic, transparent denotation.

Etymology

Asian longhorned beetle comes from its look: a beetle from Asia with very long, horn-like feelers, so it is called longhorned. That clear picture helps you remember it is an 'invasive' insect that bores into and can 'kill' hardwood trees.