a wax-secreting organ on an aphid's abdomen that is shaped like a horn
cornicle in American English
(ˈkɔrnɪkəl)
noun
any of various small, horn-shaped processes, esp. one of a pair of tubes at the posterior end of the abdomen of aphids, from which a waxy fluid is emitted
Word origin
[1640–50; ‹ L corniculum little horn, equiv. to corn- (s. of cornū) horn + -i--i- + -culum-cle1]This word is first recorded in the period 1640–50. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: electric, elevator, selection, submarine, tonic
Examples of 'cornicle' in a sentence
cornicle
Many aphids release cornicle secretions when attacked by natural enemies such as parasitoids.
Brodeur Jacques, Boivin Guy, Wu Gi-Mick, Giraldeau Luc-Alain, Outreman Yannick 2010, 'Altruistic defence behaviours in aphids', BMC Evolutionary Biologyhttp://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2148/10/19. Retrieved from DOAJ CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode)