Japanese beetle
1
6.1
- noun
- /ˈdʒæpəˌniːz ˈbiːtəl/
- US
:
escarabajo japonés
- "I really don't think I can wait." "What about you, Andrew?" he asked the boy, who stood quietly, poking with a stick at a Japanese beetle.
- Japanese beetle grubs
- Japanese beetle larvae
- roses attract Japanese beetles
Examples
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Last summer, I found several Japanese beetles on my rose bushes, and they were eating the leaves.
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To eliminate Japanese beetles, I set traps around my yard filled with a sweet bait.
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Perhaps the birds will eat some Japanese beetles.
Fiction book (1995) -
Well, abou... about a million Japanese beetles.
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These modern roses attract Japanese beetles by the millions, it seems.
Fiction book (1995) -
I keep a coffee can filled with soapy water, and I hunt Japanese beetles.
Fiction book (1995) -
In my garden, the Japanese beetle has become a serious pest, damaging my vegetable plants.
Synonyms
A small green and brown beetle from eastern Asia that eats garden plants
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a straightforward noun phrase combining a nationality adjective with an animal name: 'Japanese' (of Japan) + 'beetle' (an insect). This composition transparently denotes a beetle associated with Japan (i.e., a species/origin), a pattern common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the meaning.
Etymology
Japanese beetle names a small, shiny green-and-brown beetle that came from Japan and eastern Asia and is often seen eating leaves and flowers in gardens. That's why the name now means 'a serious plant pest'.