Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of various plant-feeding insects of the superfamily Psylloidea, closely related to and resembling the aphids, some of which are pests of fruit trees, ornamentals, and crops.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A member of the homopterous family Psyllidæ.
  • Having the characters of or belonging to the family Psyllidæ.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A host-specific plant louse the family Psyllidae, which feeds on plant juices.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun small active cicada-like insect with hind legs adapted for leaping; feeds on plant juices

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[New Latin Psylla, type genus (from Greek psulla, flea) + –id.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Ancient Greek ψύλλα (psúlla) via New Latin psylla.

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Examples

  • Carsonella lives inside a leaf-munching insect, called a psyllid (image below).

    Discovery of World’s Smallest Genome of Living Creatures | Impact Lab 2006

  • The psyllid is a small, brownish, aphid-like insect, one-eighth to one-sixteenth of an inch in length.

    AroundTheCapitol.com 2009

  • "The mere presence of the psyllid is a sign of danger to the state's citrus industry."

    Western Farm Press RSS Feed 2008

  • Experimental releases of Anthocoris nemoralis F. and A. nemorum (L.) (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae) against the pear psyllid Cacopsylla pyri L. (Homoptera: Psyllidae) in pear.

    Contributor: Lene Sigsgaard 2010

  • Sigsgaard, L. 2005 Prey preferences of A. nemoralis and A. nemorum (Heroptera: Anthocoridae) and their predation behaviour towards Pear psyllid, Cacopsylla pyri.

    Contributor: Lene Sigsgaard 2010

  • Greening is a bacterial disease spread by the Asian citrus psyllid insect, and one that kills the trees within one to three years of infection.

    Juice Rallies on Crop-Size Fears; Traders Put on Storm Watch 2009

  • The disease was discovered in Florida in 2005 and is spread by a citrus psyllid insect.

    OJ Futures Rise 1.6% on Florida Crop Worry 2009

  • A weak U.S. dollar, a broad-based commodity rally and concerns about a devastating citrus psyllid insect found near Southern California also were supportive.

    Soybean Futures Rally 2008

  • In addition, news that the Asian psyllid insect, which can carry the fatal citrus greening disease, has been found two miles from the Southern California border prompted concerns that orange and citrus production in the Golden State could be dealt a devastating blow, brokers said.

    Crude Falls Back After Hitting 2008

  • Growth has been severely hampered by attacks of the insect psyllid throughout Nepal

    Chapter 11 1999

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