wire·worm

(wīr′wûrm′)

1. The yellowish hard-bodied larva of various click beetles that feeds on the roots and seedlings of many crop plants.

2. Any of various millipedes.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

wireworm

(ˈwaɪəˌwɜːm)

(Animals) the wormlike larva of various elaterid beetles, which feeds on the roots of many crop plants and is a serious agricultural pest

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

wire•worm

(ˈwaɪ^ərˌwɜrm)

n.

1. any of the slender, hard-bodied larvae of click beetles, many of which live underground and feed on the roots of plants.

2. any of various small millipedes.

[1780–90]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

wireworm - wormlike larva of various elaterid beetles; feeds on roots of many crop plants

Elateridae, family Elateridae - click beetles and certain fireflies

larva - the immature free-living form of most invertebrates and amphibians and fish which at hatching from the egg is fundamentally unlike its parent and must metamorphose

Translations

wireworm

[ˈwaɪəwɜːm] N → gusano m de elatérido

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

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References in periodicals archive

The bionematicide MAJESTENE, which can be applied at planting as a soil and seed drench and in-season in-furrow through chemigation, provides long nematode and wireworm reduction for improved quality and yield.

Marrone Bio, Hop Tri Investment Corporation announce distribution partnership

Spinosad interacts synergistically with the insect pathogen Metarhizium anisopliae against the exitic wireworm Agriotes lineatus and Agriotes obscurus (Coleoptera: Elatridae).

Combined Effects of Beauveria bassiana (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) and Insecticide Mixtures on Biological Parameters of Musca domestica (Diptera: Muscidae)

Furlan L, Bonetto C, Finotto A, Lazzeri L, Malaguti L, Patalano G, Parker W (2010) The efficacy of biofumigant meals and plants to control wireworm populations.

Effect of greenhouse soil bio-disinfection on soil nitrate content and tomato fruit yield and quality

In response to a request from local growers, AHDB's Dr Bill Parker will discuss the practical management of Wireworm.

Spuds in spotlight

Three of the most common threats to potatoes are pests - potato cyst eelworm, slugs and wireworm. Eelworms are minute worm-like creatures which attack the roots, causing plants to wilt and present reddish-brown cysts on the roots.

THE OUTSIDERS; As gardeners start off their potatoes, Hannah Stephenson looks at problems with spud-growing later on in the season and how to tackle them

Gut bacteria associated with the pacific coast wireworm, Limoniuscanus, inferred from 16s rDNA sequences and their implications for control.

Review of the gross anatomy and microbiology of the Phasmatodea digestive tract

Use of Japanese-beetle traps to monitor flight of the Pacific coast wireworm, Limonius cams (Coleoptera: Elateridae), and effects of trap height and color.

Sustainable agriculture for Alaska and the circumpolar North: part II. environmental, geophysical, biological and socioeconomic challenges

Early summer can see infestations of carrot fly, while wireworm will make cavities in root veg and potato tubers and cabbage white larvae play havoc with your brassicas.

Grow Your Own pest free vegetables

But it is the poor old centipede that gets the blame for this, often pounded to death by a heavy garden boot when mistaken for a wireworm. Centipedes are long, yellow or orange creatures with narrow bodies and many legs, wriggling furiously in the soil.

And the real villain of the potato patch is... HOME TRUTHS

Smith), when a drought period occurs, but it disappears with the rains; wireworm (probably Limonious sp.) causes problems since the plant germinates until it reaches a height of 20-30cm, and it is fought through tillage, because in this way the worms are exposed to birds and the cold temperatures of winter; white grubs (Phyllophaga spp.) is fought in the same way that wireworms; although granary weevil (Sitophilus granarius L.) damages a lot the stored grain, it is not fought.

Runoff agriculture in the highlands of San Luis Potosi State, Mexico/Agricultura de secano en las tierras altas del estado de San Luis Potosi, Mexico/Agricultura seca nas terras altas do estado de San Luis Potosi, Mexico

A It probably is caused by wireworm which burrow into the potato.

Gardening Q&A

Some genotypes showed more tolerance to the most damaging pests, the wireworm (Conoderns sp.) and white grubs (Phyllophaga ephilida).

Biological Sciences paper Abstracts