meloidn.adj.
/ˈmɛlɔɪd/, U.S. /ˈmɛˌlɔɪd/ Entomology.
A. n.
A beetle of the family Meloidae, which includes oil beetles and blister beetles.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Coleoptera or beetles and weevils > [noun] > Polyphaga (omnivorous) > superfamily Heteromera > family Meloidae > member of
East India fly1826
meloid1878
1878 Amer. Naturalist 12 218 A very interesting and anomalous Meloid (Hornia minutipennis Riley).
1881 Cassell's Nat. Hist. V. 339 Another parasitic Meloïd..infesting the cells of Mason Bees.
1959 E. F. Linssen Beetles Brit. Isles 2nd Ser. 80 The larval instars of Meloïds..are known to be parasites of bees of the family Apidae.
1992 Experientia 48 106 Meloids are absent in northern Bavaria.
B. adj.
Of or relating to the family Meloidae.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Coleoptera or beetles and weevils > [adjective] > belonging to the Heteromera > relating to Meloidae
meloid1878
1878 Amer. Naturalist 12 290 What is known of the Larval Habits of other Meloid genera.
1901 Science 13 Dec. 941/2 A new meloid beetle, now in the National Museum.
1969 R. F. Chapman Insects ii. 27 The meloid beetles..produce vast numbers of larvae known as triungulins.
1995 New Scientist 23 Dec. 97/2 The spiders had been fed a diet of meloid beetles, which contain the drug cantharidin, the active ingredient of Spanish fly.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.1878