Definition of "sawfly" []

• Any of various hymenopterous insects, chiefly of the family Tenthredinidae, the females of which have sawlike ovipositors used for cutting into plant tissue to deposit their eggs. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "I call a sawfly, 'I said very patiently,' is a red animal, like a daddy-longlegs, but not so big, perhaps an inch long, perhaps less."
• "While the sawfly has been a problem in this area for a number of years, last year was the perfect storm for the insect, "she said."
• "Also present are oak sawfly larvae, many-legged and like milky translucent sausages: their green diet is mistily visible, and their skin armed with black, curved spines."