syrphusn.
/ˈsəːfəs/ Entomology.
A fly of the genus Syrphus, typical of the Syrphidæ, a large and widely-distributed family of two-winged flies, mostly bright-coloured, feeding on pollen and in the larval state often on plant-lice, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Diptera or flies > [noun] > suborder Cyclorrhapha > family Syrphidae > member of genus Syrphus (syrphus)
syrphus1834
1834 H. McMurtrie tr. G. Cuvier Animal Kingdom (abridged ed.) 458 In Syrphus, properly so called, the abdomen is gradually narrowed from base to point.
1876 P. J. Van Beneden Animal Parasites & Messmates 122 The banded Syrphus (Syrphus balteatus), when in the larva state, seizes the rose aphides, and sucks their blood.
1879 E. P. Wright Animal Life 510 The Syrphi form a pretty family of flies.
1879 Amer. Naturalist 13 260 Certain syrphus-flies, passionately fond of color, and themselves brightly colored,..have succeeded in producing certain flowers corresponding to their tastes.
Derivatives
ˈsyrphian n.
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the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Diptera or flies > [noun] > suborder Cyclorrhapha > family Syrphidae > member of
syrphian1862
1862 T. W. Harris Treat. Insects Injurious to Vegetation (ed. 3) 608 The Syrphians (Syrphidæ) have a fleshy, large~lipped proboscis.
ˈsyrphid adj. belonging to this family.
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the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Diptera or flies > [adjective] > belonging to family Syrphidae
syrphid1899
1899 D. Sharp in Cambr. Nat. Hist. VI. 502 Syrphid larvae.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1919; most recently modified version published online March 2019).
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n.1834