míng língdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
green rice caterpillar or similar insect larva / adopted son (Etymology: Wasps of a particular species take caterpillars to their nest as food for their offspring, but it was mistakenly believed that the wasps were raising the caterpillars as their own young.)
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-7d003c76bbdbf0fd. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

螟蛉 螟蛉 [ming2 ling2] /green rice caterpillar or similar insect larva/adopted son (Etymology: Wasps of a particular species take caterpillars to their nest as food for their offspring, but it was mistakenly believed that the wasps were raising the caterpillars as their own young.)/

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Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

螟蛉
Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.