| 释义 |
‖ motuca|məʊˈtuːkə|
Also motuka.
[Native name.]
A Brazilian horse-fly, Hadrus lepidotus, of the family Tabanidæ.
1836H. W. Bates Naturalist on River Amazons I. vii. 306 In the daytime the Motúca, a much larger and more formidable fly than the mosquito, insisted upon levying his tax of blood. Ibid., The Motúca is of a bronzed-black colour; its proboscis is formed of a bundle of horny lancets... Its puncture does not produce much pain, but it makes such a large gash in the flesh that the blood trickles forth in little streams. 1914Chambers's Jrnl. Oct. 630/1 Hornets dispute with motucas and other biting flies over the luckless intruder. 1927W. M. McGovern Jungle Paths & Inca Ruins 224 Unlike the vampire bat, the motuka inflicted a very painful sting. 1933P. Fleming Brazilian Adventure I. xvii. 145 There were also motuca flies, which looked like a lethal and slightly futuristic form of blue-bottle, and whose bites drew blood and oaths but had no worse effects. |