ambrosia beetle

noun

: any of various small wood-boring beetles (family Scolytidae) that cultivate a fungus on which they feed and raise their larvae

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Still, an ambrosia beetle population in an older tree doesn’t necessarily doom it, though young trees are more likely to succumb and any wound in the bark has the potential to become infected by opportunistic fungal cankers. —Miri Talabac, Baltimore Sun, 13 Oct. 2022

Laurel wilt is transmitted by the wood-boring redbay ambrosia beetle and can affect a range of plants, including sassafras and spicebush. —USA TODAY, 9 Jan. 2020

Laurel wilt is a fungal disease transmitted by the wood-boring redbay ambrosia beetle. —USA TODAY, 3 Oct. 2019

Legions of professional entomologists fret about sawflies, ambrosia beetles, scale insects and leafhoppers. —Adrian Higgins, Washington Post, 7 Aug. 2019

As scary as their numbers may be, these strange bugs aren't damaging to the Everglades' natural balance as nonnative species like the tiny Redbay ambrosia beetle is. —Adriana Brasileiro, orlandosentinel.com, 19 July 2019

So for ambrosia beetles, the smell of ethanol isn’t just a sign that a tree is stressed or dying. —Science | AAAS, 9 Apr. 2018

To find out why, researchers took a closer to look at the black stem borer (pictured), an ambrosia beetle native to Asia that has become a tree-boring pest in North America. —Science | AAAS, 9 Apr. 2018

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Word History

First Known Use

1897, in the meaning defined above