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Glite Dictionary
lygus bug

lygus bug

9.9
A small insect that eats plants and can spread disease to crops
  • noun
  • /ˈlaɪɡəs bʌɡ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : insecto lygus
  • The lygus bug is known to transmit viruses that can severely affect plant health.

Examples

  • Farmers are concerned about the damage caused by lygus bugs to their crops during the growing season.

  • After inspecting the fields, the agronomist identified lygus bugs as a significant pest threatening the harvest.

  • " The most destructive of these secondary pests will be aphids, leafminers, lygus bugs, thrips, grape mealy bugs, and leafrollers."

    Academic text (1995)

Synonyms

leaf bug
vslygus bug
1 6.7

A small bright insect that feeds on plant juices, often on leaves

is a pest species that damages crops and can transmit plant viruses
mirid
vslygus bug
  • Specialized
9.9

A small bug that lives on plants and often eats their leaves

is a narrower name for a genus that damages crops and spreads viruses

Surface Forms

lygus bug singular
lygus bugs plural

Morphology

Lygus + bug

The meaning is directly compositional: 'Lygus' names a genus of plant-sucking insects and 'bug' denotes a small insect, so together they denote an insect of that genus. This taxonomic Noun+Noun pattern (genus/name + common noun) is common cross-linguistically and is predictable for learners who know both constituents.

Etymology

Lygus bug The name lygus bug comes from the scientists' name Lygus and the everyday word bug. It creates a simple image: a small insect from the Lygus group that eats plants, so today 'lygus bug' means a small crop 'pest'.