lygus bug

noun

ly·​gus bug ˈlī-gəs- 

: any of various small sucking bugs (genus Lygus) including some pests of cultivated plants

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin Lygus, genus name, of uncertain origin

Note: The genus Lygus was introduced by the German entomologist and arachnologist Carl Wilhelm Hahn (1786-1835) in Die wanzenartigen Insecten, 1. Band (Nuremberg, 1831), p. 147. Hahn, who gives the insect the vernacular name Wiesenwanze "meadow bug," says nothing about the origin of the taxon. The form would suggest ancient Greek lýgoi "pliant twigs of willow, withes," lýgos "(collective) willow (used for garlands)," though the bug has no evident connection to willows. Note that Hahn split the genus Lygus off from earlier Lygaeus, a taxon introduced by the Danish entomologist Johan Christian Fabricius that appears to be taken from Greek lygaîos "dark, murky (of nights, clouds)." It is possible that Hahn back-derived his new name without any concern for semantics.

First Known Use

1936, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for lygus bug

• antidrug
• mealybug
• multidrug
• chug
• doug
• drug
• dug
• hug
• jug
• lug
• mug
• plug