buprestid

[ byoo-pres-tid ]

noun

1. any beetle of the family Buprestidae, comprising wood-boring beetles of a metallic luster.

buprestid

/ bjuːˈprɛstɪd /

noun

1. any beetle of the mainly tropical family Buprestidae , the adults of which are brilliantly coloured and the larvae of which bore into and cause damage to trees, roots, etc

adjective

1. of, relating to, or belonging to the family Buprestidae

Word History and Origins

Origin of buprestid¹

1350–1400; Middle English < New Latin Buprestidae name of the family, equivalent to Latin būprēst ( is ) venomous beetle (< Greek boúprēstis, literally ox-sweller) + -idae -id ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of buprestid¹

C19: from Latin buprestis poisonous beetle, causing the cattle who eat it to swell up, from Greek, from bous ox + prēthein to swell up

Example Sentences

Three of those six also were damaged by Golden Buprestid beetles, which only survive if a utility pole isn’t properly sterilized during manufacturing, the report found.

From Seattle Times

On the theme of impulse control, a study of why male Buprestid beetles try to mate with a certain brand of Australian beer bottle netted the Ig Nobel biology prize for Darryl Gwynne and David Rentz, entomologists working for the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in Canberra.

From Science Magazine

Many important families, such as Cicindelid�, Scarabœid�, Buprestid�, and the whole of the enormous series of the Phytophaga are either entirely absent or are only represented by a few introduced species.

From Project Gutenberg

Among the beetles the strange flat-bodied Malayan mormolyce is the largest of all the Carabid�, while the catoxantha is equally a giant among the Buprestid�.

From Project Gutenberg