acarophobia a fear of itching or of the mites or ticks that cause it. aeroscepsy, aeroscepsis perception by means of the air, said to be a function of the antennae of insects. bugology Informal. entomology. —bugologist, n. coleopterology the branch of entomology that studies beetles and weevils. —coleopterological, adj. —coleopterist, n. dipterology the branch of entomology that studies the order of insects Diptera, including houseflies, mosquitoes, and gnats. entomology the branch of zoology that studies insects. Also called insectology. —entomologist, n. —entomologie, entomological, adj. entomomania an abnormal love of insects. entomophobia an abnormal fear of insects. ephemeron anything shortlived, or of brief duration, especially certain types of insects such as the mayfly. gynandromorphism the condition of having one half of the body male and the other half female, as certain insects. —gynandromorph, n. —gynandromorphous, adj. hemipterology the branch of entomology that studies the order Hemiptera, including bedbugs, squashbugs, and aphids. heteromorphism 1. the quality of differing in form from the standard or norm. 2. the condition of existing in different forms at different stages of development, as certain insects. — heteromorphic, adj. hymenopterology the branch of entomology that studies the order Hytnenoptera, including bees, wasps, and ants. hypermetamorphosis a process by which an insect goes through more than the usual number of transformations, as the larva being metamorphosed more than once. ichneumonology the study of the life of the ichneumon fly. insecticide a substance used for killing insects. — insecticidal, adj. insectology entomology. myrmecology the study of ants. neoteny the capacity or state of becoming sexually mature in the larval stage. — neotenous, adj. neuropterology the branch of entomology that studies the order Neuroptera, including lacewings and ant lions. orthopterology the branch of entomology that studies the order Orthoptera, including cockroaches, grasshoppers, and mantises. pediculophobia an abnormal fear of lice. Also called phthiriophobia. pediculosis an infestation with lice; lousiness. — pediculous, adj. pesticide any chemical substance used for killing pests, as insects, weeds, etc. phthiriophobia pediculophobia. polymorphism the occurrence of several forms or colors in one species of insect. — polymorphous, adj. stridulation 1. an action characteristic of some insects of producing a shrill, grating noise by chafing a serrated part of the body against a hard part. 2. the noise so produced. — stridulator, n. — stridulant, stridulatory, adj. vespiary 1. a wasps’ nest. 2. a community or colony of wasps. xenobiosis communal life, such as that of ants, in which colonies of different species live together but do not share the raising of the young. —xenobiotic, adj.
- plural form of insect