: any of numerous hymenopterous insects (superfamily Tenthredinoidea and especially family Tenthredinidae) with the female usually having a sawlike ovipositor and with the larva resembling a plant-feeding caterpillar
Examples of sawfly in a Sentence
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Regardless of which species of sawfly is attacking your plants, options for control include hand picking, insecticidal soap, Spinosad or other insecticides labeled for sawflies.
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Dawn Pettinelli, Hartford Courant, 15 June 2024
The sawfly larva feeds on the needles of conifers, including the lower portion, which contains resin from the branch.
—Mark Fischetti, Scientific American, 25 June 2024
Insecticides that normally kill caterpillars prove to be ineffective on sawflies because sawflies' biology tolerates the chemicals.
—Kylie Martin, Detroit Free Press, 21 June 2024
Some are inadvertently introduced pests like the European pine sawfly.
—Dawn Pettinelli, Hartford Courant, 15 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for sawfly 
Dawn Pettinelli, Hartford Courant, 15 June 2024
The sawfly larva feeds on the needles of conifers, including the lower portion, which contains resin from the branch.
—Mark Fischetti, Scientific American, 25 June 2024
Insecticides that normally kill caterpillars prove to be ineffective on sawflies because sawflies' biology tolerates the chemicals.
—Kylie Martin, Detroit Free Press, 21 June 2024
Some are inadvertently introduced pests like the European pine sawfly.
—Dawn Pettinelli, Hartford Courant, 15 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for sawfly
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“Sawfly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sawfly. Accessed 26 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sawfly
noun
saw·fly
-ˌflī 
: any of numerous insects related to the wasps and bees in which the female has a serrated organ used to cut holes in plants where she lays eggs
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