symphylid
English
[edit]Noun
[edit]symphylid (plural symphylids)
- (zoology) A group of arthropods with 12 pairs of legs that live in the deeper soil layers and feed primarily on dead plant matter, although some species also eat young roots and the root hairs of living plants.
- 2012, M. Gratwick, Crop Pests in the UK: Collected edition of MAFF leaflets, page 382:
- […] differences in the number of symphylids in the surface layers of soil […]
- 2015, Roland Fox, The Gardener's Book of Pests and Diseases:
- The symphylids are related to the millepedes [sic] and centipedes and the only pest of any importance is the glasshouse symphylid, white insect or glasshouse centipede (Scutigerella immaculata).