Skip to main content
budworm

budworm

7.5
A caterpillar that eats the buds of plants or trees and often damages crops
  • noun
  • /ˈbʌdˌwɜrm/
translation icon : gusano de yema
  • "Cotton bollworms and budworms have developed resistance to many standard commercial insecticides," says Kirk, who is with the Areawide Pest Management Research Unit in College Station.
  • budworm and bollworm
  • budworm population on cotton
  • tobacco budworm

Examples

  • Spinosad Tests on Cotton Pests: Bollworms and Budworms

    Academic text (2000)
  • However, cotton treated with spinosad had fewer damaging bollworm and budworm larvae than plots treated with the other pesticides," Esquivel says.

    Academic text (2000)
  • This helps prevent budworms or helps keep them at Bay.

  • Bermuda beach improved again and see some budworm damage.

  • Extremely high pesticide resistance had developed in the tobacco budworm population on cotton.

    Academic text (1992)
  • Effective management of the timber resource to provide a maximum sustainable yield on a regional basis would lead to conditions less suitable for budworm outbreaks.

    Academic text (1990)
  • Finally, in early 1970, approximately 285,000 ha of cotton had to be abandoned because pesticides were ineffective and there was no way to protect the crop from the budworm.

    Academic text (1992)
  • In fact, like its "partners in crime"—tobacco budworm and cotton bollworm—it was recently added to the list of cotton pests that are showing resistance to insecticides.

    Academic text (1999)
  • The tobacco budworm infests the young leaves of tomato plants, causing significant damage to the crops.

  • Farmers are concerned about the budworm outbreak as it threatens to destroy their fruit blossoms this spring.

Synonyms

caterpillar
vsbudworm
43 1.0

A soft young insect like a worm that becomes a butterfly or moth and eats leaves

is a larval feeder that eats buds and can cause plant damage
tobacco budworm
vsbudworm
  • Specialized
8.8

A small caterpillar that eats crops like cotton, corn, and tomatoes

is a more general larva that targets plant buds rather than crops broadly

Compounds

tobacco budworm
  • Specialized
8.8

A small caterpillar that eats crops like cotton, corn, and tomatoes

How Damaging

codling moth
  • Specialized
8.9
fruitworm
  • Specialized
5.7
budworm
7.5
aphid
14 5.6

Surface Forms

budworm singular
budworms plural

Morphology

budworm = bud + worm (transparent) = bud + worm

Direct compound of 'bud' + 'worm' meaning a worm that feeds on buds; the relation is literal and easily inferable by learners.

Etymology

Budworm comes from the simple parts bud and worm. Bud means 'a young leaf or flower' and worm has long been used for 'a small soft creature', often the young form of an insect like a caterpillar, so a budworm is a young insect that eats plant buds and can damage new growth.