[ noun ] insect whose female has a saw-like ovipositor for inserting eggs into the leaf or stem tissue of a host plant <noun.animal>
Sawfly \Saw"fly`\, n. (Zo["o]l.) Any one of numerous species of hymenopterous insects belonging to the family {Tenthredinid[ae]}. The female usually has an ovipositor containing a pair of sawlike organs with which she makes incisions in the leaves or stems of plants in which to lay the eggs. The larv[ae] resemble those of Lepidoptera.