‖aphis|ˈæfɪs|Pl. aphides|ˈæfɪdiːz|.[mod.L. (Linnæus); of unknown etymology. A number of conjectures are offered in Buckton's Monograph ofBrit.Aphides, the least improbable being that the plural is forGr.ἀϕειδεῖςpl.of ἀϕειδής ‘unsparing, lavishly bestowed’ (? in reference to their prodigious rate of production, or to their voracity), and thesing.formed on it in imitation of orchis, orchides, chrysalis, caryatis, etc. The quantity of the i with Linnæus is unknown; it is now made short.]1.A family of minute insects, also called plant-lice, which are very destructive to vegetation. They are prodigiously prolific, multiplying through the summer by parthenogenesis; they form the food of lady-birds, and are tended by ants for the honeydew which they yield, whence sometimes called ant-cows.1771Richardson inPhil.Trans.LXI. 183The Aphides are distinguished by Linnæus into more than thirty species.1776WitheringBot.Arrangem.(1796) II. 277The honey dew is the excrement of a species of Aphis.1793WhiteSelborne (1853) 380The people of Selborne were surprised by a shower of aphides.1859DarwinOrig.Spec.viii. (1878) 207An ant..began to play with its antennæ, on the abdomen first of one aphis and then of another.1876BucktonBrit.Aphides I. 80Except for accidents, a single aphis in one year might produce more aphides than is represented by the weight of the population of China.2.Comb.and attrib., as aphis-blight, aphis-lion, aphis-sugar(seequot.).1882Birm. Weekly Post 30 Dec. 1/6Aphis blight is the consequence of an unhealthy state of the hop plant brought about by climatic conditions, as cold winds, white frosts, etc...which..weaken them and render them unable to grow away from the aphides.1870NicholsonZool.(1880) 351 Fig. 185.Neuroptera: The Aphis-lion (Chrysopa perla), imago, larva, and eggs.1842PennyCycl.XXIII. 225Honey-dew, or aphis-sugar, and the honey of the bee are intermediate between animal and vegetable sugars.