polyhedrosisn.
/ˌpɒlɪhɪˈdrəʊsɪs/, U.S. /ˌpɑliˌhiˈdroʊsəs/ Entomology.
A fatal disease of caterpillars characterized by the presence of polyhedral virus particles.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > animal disease or disorder > disorders of insects > [noun] > disorders of caterpillars
polyhedral disease1913
polyhedrosis1947
1947 Science 3 Oct. 323/2 The fragility of the integument and the marked internal liquefaction of tissues, so characteristic of polyhedroses, is absent.
1967 K. M. Smith Insect Virol. ii. 8 The polyhedroses are subdivided into nuclear and cytoplasmic diseases.
1973 Nature 2 Nov. 5/3 The outbreak tends to end abruptly in the spring of the third year, because of the explosive spread of a nuclear polyhedrosis virus which kills off some of the caterpillars.
1992 Independent 14 July 4/6 Kirin is a nuclear polyhedrosis virus (NPV), which attacks the cells of larvae.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1947