black beetle

plural black beetles · alternative blackbeetle · alternative black-beetle

1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see black, beetle.
2. A black scarab beetle, later specifically the African black beetle (Heteronychus arator), a serious pest of grasses in New Zealand.First known use 16th c.
3. UKThe oriental cockroach (Blatta orientalis), a large roach from the family Blattidae.First known use 18th c.

   ‘I'm not afwaid of anything except black-beetles,’ said the Pussum […].

   1921, DH Lawrence, Women in Love, Vintage, published 2008, page 65

   Synonyms: oriental cockroach, Oriental cockroach, oriental roach, waterbug

4. New ZealandA similar roach native to New Zealand, of species Maoriblatta novaeseelandiae (syn. Platyzosteria novaeseelandia); the Māori bug.First known use 19th c.

   Synonyms: Māori bug

5. Any of various other species of beetle that are black in color, including:
   1. An Asiatic rhinoceros beetle (Oryctes rhinoceros), a pest of palm trees in tropical Asia.
   2. A member of the European species Pterostichus nigrita (syn. Feronia nigrita).