Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
squash bug

squash bug

8.4
A large insect that feeds on the sap of plants like squash and pumpkins, often damaging crops
  • noun
  • /skwɑʃ bʌg/
  • US
translation icon : chinche de calabaza
  • Hall periodically sprays his 450-acre melon crop with an insecticide that kills squash bugs, which he suspects infect the plants as they feed.
  • beetles and squash bugs
  • leafhoppers and squash bugs
  • squash bugs or borers

If you suffer from squash bugs and squash fine borer, plant it in the fall.

Examples

  • In addition to leafhoppers and squash bugs, they also looked at aphids, which tap into the plant's sweet, rich sap.

    Academic text (1997)

  • But we don't have any squash bugs yet, which is amazing.

  • In May, the researchers used their new test to sample hundreds of leafhoppers, squash bugs, and other insects.

    Academic text (1997)

  • If you suffer from squash bugs and squash fine borer, plant it in the fall.

    MIgardener

  • This also applies to things like squash bugs with squash fine bores.

  • We have tons of earwigs, tons of squash bugs and mosquitoes really, really bad.

  • You can prevent damage to your garden by eliminating any squash bugs you find on your plants.

  • Gardeners often struggle with squash bugs that sap the nutrients from their squash plants.

  • To protect your crops, regularly check for squash bugs hiding under the leaves.

Synonyms

Anasa tristis
vssquash bug
  • Specialized
9.9

A large dark bug that eats plant juice from squash and damages crops

is a general common description rather than the specific scientific label
Anasa
vssquash bug
  • Specialized
9.9

A group of bugs that eat and damage squash and pumpkin plants

is the single specific insect species rather than the wider group

Surface Forms

squash bug singular
squash bugs plural

Morphology

squash + bug

The noun is a straightforward compound of 'squash' (the plant) + 'bug' (an insect), so its referent—an insect associated with or feeding on squash—is directly inferable from the parts. This compounding pattern is common and cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would be expected to understand the meaning.

Etymology

Squash bug The name squash bug comes from the insect's habit of feeding on squash plants: the bug uses its mouth to suck the plant's juice, so leaves and fruit often go brown and die. So the name now means a pest that eats and can destroy squash crops.