harlequin bug
noun
a black stink bug, Murgantia histrionica, having red and yellow markings, that feeds on cabbages and other cruciferous plants.
Origin of harlequin bug
1An Americanism dating back to 1865–70
- Also called cabbage bug, calicoback, calico bug, harlequin cabbage bug .
Words Nearby harlequin bug
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use harlequin bug in a sentence
This is called the harlequin bug from its fantastic appearance.
The Library of Work and Play: Gardening and Farming. | Ellen Eddy Shaw
British Dictionary definitions for harlequin bug
harlequin bug
noun
a brightly coloured heteropterous insect, Murgantia histrionica, of the US and Central America: a pest of cabbages and related plants: family Pentatomidae
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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