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Glite Dictionary
plant louse

plant louse

7.0
A small insect like an aphid that sucks juices from plants
  • noun
  • /plænt laʊs/
translation icon : pulgón
  • The plant louse infested the garden quickly.

Examples

  • Many plant lice can damage crops significantly.

  • Farmers often struggle to control plant louse infestations, as these small insects can quickly damage crops.

  • The plant lice can weaken crops by draining vital nutrients from stems and leaves.

  • Gardeners often use ladybugs to control plant lice in greenhouses.

  • The rosebush was infested with plant lice, causing its leaves to curl and yellow.

  • The plant louse feeds on the sap of plants, which can weaken and even kill weaker plants.

  • After noticing the leaves turning yellow, she discovered that the garden was infested with plant louse.

Synonyms

aphid
vsplant louse
14 5.6

A small insect that sucks sap from plants and often damages them

is a broader label covering several sap sucking insects rather than only this pest
louse
vsplant louse
7.1

A small insect that sucks sap from plants

is usually used for the common sap sucking species rather than all similar insects

Surface Forms

plant louse singular
plant lice plural

Morphology

plant + louse

The compound follows a straightforward noun + noun composition: 'plant' specifies the host/location and 'louse' names a small parasitic insect, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer 'a louse that lives on or feeds on plants'. The pattern is cross-linguistically common (equivalent compounds or terms exist in many languages), making the meaning directly derivable and transparent.

Etymology

Plant louse comes from the image of a tiny insect that sits on a leaf and sucks the plant's juice like a louse on a person. So, it means 'a small insect that feeds by sucking the juices from plants'.