Alderfly

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A large aquatic insect larva, the young stage of the dobsonfly, often used by anglers as bait for fish
2. The grub of a dobsonfly that lives in fresh water and is prized by fishermen as a lure
3. An aquatic larval insect resembling a big grub, commonly threaded on a hook to catch fish

Etymology: Alderfly is a plain compound: "alder" plus "fly." The alder is a tree of the birch family that grows along streams and damp ground, and the name of the insect comes from its habit of living in those same waters. The aquatic larvae of alderflies, which belong to the order Megaloptera, hatch from eggs laid on overhanging alder and other riverside branches, then drop into the water to feed on other small creatures. The "fly" element is the adult insect's name, though the adults are weak fliers and the larvae are the stage most people notice, sometimes called "hellgrammites" in North America when they are used as fishing bait. Because the word is a transparent combination, its history is simply the joining of two long-established English words rather than a story of shifting meaning.