wireworm

[ wahyuhr-wurm ]

noun

1. any of the slender, hard-bodied larvae of click beetles, many of which live underground and feed on the roots of plants.
2. any of various small myriapods.
3. stomach worm.

wireworm

/ ˈwaɪəˌwɜːm /

noun

1. the wormlike larva of various elaterid beetles, which feeds on the roots of many crop plants and is a serious agricultural pest

Word History and Origins

Origin of wireworm¹

First recorded in 1780–90; wire + worm

Example Sentences

Six species of cotton insects, along with an assortment of thrips, fruit moths, leaf hoppers, caterpillars, mites, aphids, wireworms, and many others now are able to ignore the farmer’s assault with chemical sprays.

From Literature

In a fresh state it is poisonous and fatal to vegetation, and is often used for this reason to dress land infested with wireworms, grubs, club-root fungus, &c.

From Project Gutenberg

The larvæ of the Elateridæ, known as wireworms, are long and slender, with short legs.

From Project Gutenberg

This consists of grain, seeds, an enormous quantity of wireworms, small insects, especially ants and their eggs, and green herbage.

From Project Gutenberg

By growing mustard and ploughing it in green the ground is made obnoxious to the wireworms, and may even be cleared of them.

From Project Gutenberg