Woodwasps

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A group of large, wasp-like insects whose larvae bore into and feed on wood, often causing damage to trees or timber; adult insects resemble wasps but are not harmful to humans; important in forest ecology for decomposing dead timber
2. Insects resembling wasps with larvae that tunnel into the trunks and branches of trees, feeding on the wood and sometimes harming forests or wooden structures; the adults are harmless and key for ecological recycling of dead wood
3. Wood-boring insects similar in appearance to wasps, whose immature stages infest and consume the wood of living or dead trees, contributing to nutrient cycling, while adults are non-aggressive and play a role in natural forest processes

Etymology: "Woodwasps" is the plural of "woodwasp," a compound of two plain English words: "wood" and "wasp." The insects get their name from the timber they live in, since their larvae tunnel through wood, and from their resemblance to true wasps, with which they share a narrow waist and a stinging-wasp appearance, though most woodwasps lack a sting. The word is a straightforward English compound with no borrowed parts. "Wood" comes from Old English "wudu," and "wasp" from Old English "wæsp," so both halves have been part of the language since its earliest recorded stage. The plural simply adds the usual "-s" to the compound.

Synonyms: horntails, wood wasps, sirex, siricids, wood-boring wasps