huhun.
/ˈhʊhuː/, /ˈhuːhuː/, U.S. /ˈhuˌhu/, /ˈhʊˌhu/, New Zealand English /ˈhuhu/, /ˈhʊhuː/ New Zealand.
The beetle Prionoplus reticularis, or its larva (in full huhu grub), found in decayed timber.
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the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Coleoptera or beetles and weevils > [noun] > miscellaneous types > prionoplus reticularis (huhu)
huhu1848
1848 R. Taylor Leaf from Nat. Hist. N.Z. 5/1 Insects..Huhu, a grub which bores into wood.
1926 R. J. Tillyard Insects Austral. & N.Z. xx. 232 Prionoplus reticularis Wh., the largest of all New Zealand beetles, measures up to two inches in length and is dark brown..; it is very common and flies to light. The larva, called ‘Hu-hu’ by the Maoris, is eaten as a delicacy; it bores into fallen forest timber.
1949 F. Sargeson I saw in my Dream i. vii. 52 The children..looked for wetas and huhus.
1956 T. Sutherland Green Kiwi ii. 45 The timber tunnelled by the mokoroa or huhu grubs.
1960 B. Crump Good Keen Man 45 My next mate was a Maori... I once found him tearing a rotten log to pieces, scattering powdery wood all over the place as he searched for huhus. When he found one he'd pick the butter-coloured grub out with his fingers and eat it as it was.
1966 Encycl. N.Z. I. 187/2 Among the more conspicuous New Zealand beetles are the ‘Huhu’ (Prionoplus reticularis), a large dead~wood borer of the family Cerambycidae, [etc.].
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1976; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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