noun
- large wasps whose females have a prominent ovipositor that resembles a stinger, used for laying eggs in wood
Usage: entomology
Examples
- The horntails emerged from the dead pine tree in late summer.
- Female horntails use their long ovipositors to drill into tree bark.
- Horntails are beneficial insects that help decompose dead wood.
- The lumber inspector found evidence of horntails in the wooden beams.
- Despite their intimidating appearance, horntails cannot sting humans.
- Horntails belong to the family Siricidae of wood-boring wasps.