- whirligig beetle
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Any of various water beetles of the family Gyrinidae that swim rapidly in circles when alarmed.
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whirligig beetle
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whirligig beetle — n. any of a small family (Gyrinidae) of bluish black gregarious beetles found darting about in circles on the surface of ponds, streams, etc … English World dictionary
Whirligig beetle — Taxobox name = Whirligig beetle image width = 200px image caption = Gyrinus natator regnum = Animalia phylum = Arthropoda classis = Insecta ordo = Coleoptera subordo = Adephaga familia = Gyrinidae familia authority = Latreille, 1802 subdivision… … Wikipedia
whirligig beetle — any of numerous aquatic beetles of the family Gyrinidae, commonly seen in groups circling about rapidly on the surface of the water. [1850 55] * * * ▪ insect any of about 700 species of beetles (insect order Coleoptera) that are widespread… … Universalium
whirligig beetle — noun aquatic beetle that circles rapidly on the water surface • Hypernyms: ↑beetle • Member Holonyms: ↑Gyrinidae, ↑family Gyrinidae * * * noun : any of numerous beetles of the family Gyrinidae that have a firm oval usually dark body with a bronzy … Useful english dictionary
whirligig beetle — n. aquatic beetle that circles quickly on the surface of calm freshwater in groups … English contemporary dictionary
whirligig beetle — noun Date: 1855 any of a family (Gyrinidae) of beetles with two pairs of eyes and clubbed antennae that live mostly on the surface of water where they swim swiftly about in circles … New Collegiate Dictionary
whirligig beetle — whirl′igig bee tle n. ent any of numerous aquatic beetles of the family Gyrinidae, commonly seen in groups circling about rapidly on the surface of water • Etymology: 1850–55 … From formal English to slang
whirligig beetle — /wɜligɪg ˈbitl/ (say werleegig beetl) noun any of the aquatic beetles of the family Gyrinidae, commonly seen circling rapidly about in large numbers on the surface of the water …
Whirligig (disambiguation) — Whirligig is a generic name for an object that spins or whirls (or has whirling parts). The term may specifically refer to one of the following*Whirligig beetle *Whirligig mite, Anystis baccarum (L.) *Samara, fruit falling in spiral (from ash… … Wikipedia
whirligig — ► NOUN 1) a toy that spins round, e.g. a top or windmill. 2) another term for ROUNDABOUT(Cf. ↑roundabout) (in sense 2). 3) (also whirligig beetle) a small black water beetle which typically swims rapidly in circles on the surface. ORIGIN from… … English terms dictionary
