phloeophagy
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Ancient Greek φλοιός (phloiós, “bark”) + -φᾰγῐ́ᾱ (-phagíā, “eating”)[1]
Noun
[edit]phloeophagy (uncountable)
- The act or custom of feeding on bark.
- The Scolytinae are a subfamily of weevils, called the bark beetles because of their habit of phloeophagy.
References
[edit]- ^ 1977, Eric Partridge, Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, Routledge