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billbug

 - 3 dictionary results

bill⋅bug

[bil-buhg]
–noun
any of several weevils, esp. of the genera Calendra and Sitophilus, that feed on various grasses.

Origin:
1860–65, Americanism; bill 2 + bug 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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bill·bug   (bĭl'bŭg')   
n.  Any of several weevils, especially of the genera Calendra or Sitophilus, whose larvae feed on plants such as corn and other cereal grasses.

[bill2 + bug.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Encyclopedia

billbug

any stout-bodied beetle of the family Curculionidae (insect order Coleoptera) that has a short snout and body length up to 5 cm (2 inches). Some (e.g., Rhynchophorus) are found mainly in the tropics, boring through the new growth of palm trees. The larvae of R. cruentatus are about 5 cm long and make a clucking sound while boring in cabbage palms. These larvae are eaten, either fried or raw, by native peoples of tropical America. A similar species (R. ferrugines) has threatened copra (dried coconut meat) production in the Pacific because it attacks coconut and wine palms

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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