Glossary terms beginning with B
- Bagworms
- cf. Psychidae - a group of small moths, also known as bagworms or case-bearers, whose females never leave their pupal case.
- Barklice
- cf. Psocoptera - the Psocoptera (or booklice and barklice) are an Order of insects. They are small insects but, despite being called lice, are not parasites.
- Batesian mimicry
- a type of mimicry where one organism mimics a poisonous or unpalatable one.
Read more on: Batesian mimicry - BCM
- cf. Bug Club Magazine - the Bug Club Magazine is a publication for children and young people interested in insects and other terrestrial invertebrates.
- Beating tray
- a device for collecting insects that hide within foliage.
Read more on: Beating tray - Bee
- cf. Apoidea - insects in the superfamily Apoidea within the Order Hymenoptera. They are more commonly known as bees. Most people think of bees as social insects but there are many more species of solitary bee.
- Bee bread
- a mixture of pollen and nectar or honey. It is the main food source for honey bee larvae and workers.
Read more on: Bee bread - Bee glue
- cf. Propolis - a type of tree resin used by honey bees.
- Bee milk
- cf. Royal jelly - a protein-rich substance produced by honey bees to feed to developing larvae.
- Bee pollen
- cf. Bee bread - a mixture of pollen and nectar or honey. It is the main food source for honey bee larvae and workers.
- Bee yard
- cf. Apiary - the location where bee hives are kept.
- Bee-fly
- a Family of flies that have stout, furry bodies and resemble bumblebees.
Read more on: Bee-fly - Beeswax
- a substance secreted by worker honey bees and used to build honey combs.
Read more on: Beeswax - Beetles
- cf. Coleoptera - the Coleoptera/beetles are regarded as the most species rich of all the Orders of insects.
- Berry bugs
- cf. Harvest mite - mites within the Family Trombiculidae. The larvae of these mites, called Chiggers, are parasitic and can cause considerable irritation and swelling.
- Binomial naming system
- the system used to name species.
Read more on: Binomial naming system - Binominal nomenclature
- cf. Binomial naming system - the system used to name species.
- BioBlitz
- an intense period of biological recording (usually lasting 24 hours) within a specific area.
Read more on: BioBlitz - Biocontrol
- cf. Biological control - the use of one living organism to control a pest species by humans.
- Biodiversity
- a term meaning the variety of life, in all its forms.
Read more on: Biodiversity - Biological classification
- the process by which scientists group living organisms.
Read more on: Biological classification - Biological control
- the use of one living organism to control a pest species by humans.
Read more on: Biological control - Biological recording
- the diligent recording of biodiversity, coupled with the use of computers to process this information, and to learn from it.
Read more on: Biological recording - Biting lice
- cf. Phthiraptera - wingless ectoparasites. There are two main kinds of lice (Order Phthiraptera); the biting lice and the sucking lice.
- Bivoltine
- a species having two broods per year.
Read more on: Bivoltine - Bivouac
- a temporary structure formed to protect the queen and larvae of army and driver ants.
Read more on: Bivouac - Black death
- cf. Bubonic plague - a bacterial disease that is often fatal and is transmitted between mammalian hosts by fleas.
- Blackfly
- cf. Aphid - insects in the Superfamily Aphidoidea within the Suborder Sternorrhyncha. They are often considered pests on plants.
- Blattodea
- an Order of insects that contains the cockroaches. Cockroaches are some of the most despised insects despite there being only about 25 species that are considered pests.
Read more on: Blattodea - Blowfly strike
- cf. Myiasis - an infestation of the living tissues of a vertebrate animal by fly larvae.
- Blues
- the collective name given to butterflies within the family Lycaenidae that have blue wings.
Read more on: Blues - Boisea trivittata
- cf. Boxelder bug - a true bug found in America that can gather in large numbers within houses and become a nuisance.
- Bombyliidae
- cf. Bee-fly - a Family of flies that have stout, furry bodies and resemble bumblebees.
- Book lung
- the main respiratory organ in many arachnids.
Read more on: Book lung - Booklice
- cf. Psocoptera - the Psocoptera (or booklice and barklice) are an Order of insects. They are small insects but, despite being called lice, are not parasites.
- Borreliosis
- cf. Lyme disease - a disease caused by bacteria transmitted to a mammalian host by a tick.
- Botfly
- a family of true flies with larvae that are parasitic on humans and other mammals.
Read more on: Botfly - Boxelder bug
- a true bug found in America that can gather in large numbers within houses and become a nuisance.
Read more on: Boxelder bug - Brachypterous
- a term used to describe an animal with short or reduced wings.
Read more on: Brachypterous - Breakbone fever
- cf. Dengue fever - a disease, caused by the Dengue virus, transmitted to humans by mosquitoes.
- Brincador
- cf. Jumping bean - the seed of a shrub in which a larvae of a moth is developing. The larvae causes the seed to jump.
- Brood parasitism
- a form of parasitism whereby the parasite uses another organism to raise the parasite's offspring rather than the host's own offspring.
Read more on: Brood parasitism - Browns
- the collective name given to butterflies within the family Nymphalidae that have brown wings.
Read more on: Browns - Bubonic plague
- a bacterial disease that is often fatal and is transmitted between mammalian hosts by fleas.
Read more on: Bubonic plague - Buddleia
- a flowering shrub that is very attractive to butterflies.
Read more on: Buddleia - Bug
- cf. Hemiptera - the Hemiptera/true bugs are an Order of insects including the aphids and shieldbugs.
- Bug Club
- the junior section of the Amateur Entomologists' Society.
Read more on: Bug Club - Bug Club Magazine
- the Bug Club Magazine is a publication for children and young people interested in insects and other terrestrial invertebrates.
Read more on: Bug Club Magazine - Bulletin
- the Bulletin of the Amateur Entomologists' Society is the Society's high-quality, house journal.
Read more on: Bulletin - Bush cricket
- cf. Katydid - a family of large crickets.
- Butterfly
- cf. Lepidoptera - butterflies and Moths/Order Lepidoptera are probably the most widely studied order of invertebrates. The Order comprises some 160,000 species.
- Butterfly bush
- cf. Buddleia - a flowering shrub that is very attractive to butterflies.
- Butterfly net
- a common piece of equipment used by an entomologist. It is used to catch flying insects.
Read more on: Butterfly net
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