noun
- A small insect of the family Adelgidae that feeds on conifer trees, often causing damage to spruce, fir, and hemlock.
Usage: technical; entomology
Examples
- The adelgid infestation weakened the spruce trees throughout the forest.
- Foresters monitor adelgid populations to prevent widespread damage to hemlock stands.
- An adelgid can reproduce both sexually and asexually depending on environmental conditions.
- The balsam woolly adelgid is a particularly destructive species in North America.