wirewormn.
/ˈwʌɪəwəːm/, U.S. /ˈwaɪ(ə)rˌwərm/ 1. The slender hard-skinned larva of a click beetle (family Elateridae), which is destructive to the roots of plants. Also: the similar larva of various other insects, esp. the leatherjacket grub of a crane fly.
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the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Diptera or flies > [noun] > suborder Nematocera > family Tipulidae > member of (crane-fly) > larva
wireworm1771
wire grub1842
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Coleoptera or beetles and weevils > [noun] > Polyphaga (omnivorous) > superfamily Diversicornia > family Elateridae > member of (click-beetle) > larva of
wireworm1771
wire grub1842
1771 D. Lambe in R. Dossie Mem. Agric. II. 336 I soon discovered the reason of this visible and daily decay, viz. Nine or ten wire-worms, as we call them in Kent, in the very heart of the root.
1790 Trans. Soc. Arts 8 302 The person who shall discover to the Society an effectual method..of destroying the insect called the Wire-Worm.
1815 W. Kirby & W. Spence Introd. Entomol. I. vi. 181 The wire-worm..destroying indiscriminately wheat, rye, oats, and grass.
1841 Jrnl. Statist. Soc. 4 125 Pulverised lime is occasionally used for the destruction of the wire worm.
1882 Garden 18 Mar. 189/3 I..found the crop quite eaten up with wireworm.
1947 A. D. Imms Outl. Entomol. (ed. 3) iv. 141 Coleopterous larvae..afford excellent examples of adaptation to particular modes of life... Examples are larvae of the Coccinellidae (lady-birds), Elateridae (wire-worms) and Chrysomelidae (leaf-beetles).
1998 A. Sturgeon Planted 196/1 Wire worms. These are the larvae of click beetles. They are quite common and eat holes in vegetables, particularly root crops.
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the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Myriapoda > [noun] > member of
galleyworm1658
myriapod1826
wireworm1838
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Myriapoda > [noun] > order Pauropoda > suborder Diplopoda or Chilognatha > member of (millepede)
scolopender1562
millipede1601
scolopendra1608
thousand-feet1704
thousand-legs1807
chilognathan1835
wireworm1838
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Myriapoda > [noun] > order Pauropoda > suborder Diplopoda or Chilognatha > family Iulidae > genus Iulus > member of
millipede1601
galleyworm1658
iulus1752
wireworm1838
1838 Mass. Zool. Surv. Rep. 62 The wire-worm of America..belongs to the class Myriapoda.
1841 T. W. Harris Rep. Insects Massachusetts 46 They are not to be confounded with the American wire-worm, a species of Iulus, which is not a true insect.
1875 J. C. Melliss St. Helena 202 Julus pulchellus, Leach.—The Wire Worm, well known as one of the most destructive insects in the Island to all root-crops.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1771