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prettygoodwordI recently read a couple historical stories set in Australia, which resulted in jotting down a lot of new-to-me words, which I will now start defining to us. IOW, theme week: Aussie Stuff part 1. (This will be the first of two weeks, as I've got enough in the queue, but I'll separate the weeks.) I should probably mention that a couple of these featured an entomologist, so there's a few bugs, starting with this one:
witchetty or witchety or witchetty grub (WI-chuh-tee) - n., the large, white, wood-eating larvae of several moths and beetles, especially the moth Endoxyla leucomochla.
Traditionally eaten (after roasting) by Indigenous Australians in those regions (especially Northern Territory) where they are common. The full name witchetty grub probably ought to be used, as witchetty itself is a shrubby acacia what the grubs live on -- Endoxyla leucomochla feeds on the roots. The name for the tree is from some Pama-Nyungan language, possibly Arabana where it's called witjuti, and the full name for the insect is a calque from possibly Arabana, mako witjuti. Since there's no scale in this pic, I'll mention that the grubs of E. leucomochla grow to about 7cm / 1.5in) long -- these are big moths (adult wingspan is 16cm / 6+in):
Thanks, WikiMedia!
---L.
witchetty or witchety or witchetty grub (WI-chuh-tee) - n., the large, white, wood-eating larvae of several moths and beetles, especially the moth Endoxyla leucomochla.
Traditionally eaten (after roasting) by Indigenous Australians in those regions (especially Northern Territory) where they are common. The full name witchetty grub probably ought to be used, as witchetty itself is a shrubby acacia what the grubs live on -- Endoxyla leucomochla feeds on the roots. The name for the tree is from some Pama-Nyungan language, possibly Arabana where it's called witjuti, and the full name for the insect is a calque from possibly Arabana, mako witjuti. Since there's no scale in this pic, I'll mention that the grubs of E. leucomochla grow to about 7cm / 1.5in) long -- these are big moths (adult wingspan is 16cm / 6+in):
Thanks, WikiMedia!
---L.
