blackfly

B3L1A1C3K5F4L1Y4

noun

A black or dark green aphid (Aphis fabae) that is a common pest of agricultural crops.

Similar
bean aphidAphis fabaeblack flybuffalo gnat
OriginEnglish fly ← Middle English flye ← Old English flēoge →
Scrabble 22
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounblackfly (plural blackflies)

plural blackflies · alternative black fly

  1. A black or dark green aphid (Aphis fabae) that is a common pest of agricultural crops.
  2. Any of various small black bloodsucking flies of the family Simuliidae.

    According to Bonnie Louison, […] Axel made a mistake when she didn't consult western Massachusetts women about the time and place of the event. Louison said that Axel didn't realize that June is black fly season, that the area is in the grip of a severe drought, […]

    1981 April 18, Jil Clark, “Axel Cancels East Coast Women's Music Festival”, in Gay Community News, page 3

Synonyms & antonyms

nounblackish aphid that infests e.g. beans and sugar beets

Similar
bean aphidAphis fabae
Broader
aphid

nounsmall blackish stout-bodied biting fly having aquatic larvae; sucks the blood of birds as well as humans and other mammals

Similar
black flybuffalo gnat
Broader
gnat
Also see
bean aphid

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Germanic*blakaz
  2. Proto-West Germanic*blak
  3. Old Englishblæc
  4. Middle Englishblak
  5. Englishblack
  6. Proto-Indo-European*plew-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*plewk-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*pléwketi
  9. Proto-Germanic*fleuganądeverb.
  10. Proto-Germanic*fleugǭ
  11. Proto-West Germanic*fleugā
  12. Old Englishflēoge
  13. Middle Englishflye
  14. Englishfly
  15. Englishblackfly

From black + fly.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan pugó negre, pugó de la fava
  • pugó negreagricultural pest
  • pugó de la favaagricultural pest
  • mosca negrafly of the Simuliidae
Danish kvægmyg
  • kvægmygfly of the Simuliidae
Esperanto kuleto, similio
  • kuletofly of the Simuliidae
  • similiofly of the Simuliidae
Finnish juurikaskirva, mäkärä
  • juurikaskirvaagricultural pest
  • mäkäräfly of the Simuliidae
  • mäkäräinenfly of the Simuliidae
German Kriebelmücke
  • Kriebelmückefly of the Simuliidae
Japanese 蚋
  • 蚋fly of the Simuliidae
Latvian knislis
  • knislisfly of the Simuliidae
Portuguese borrachudo
  • borrachudofly of the Simuliidae
Russian свеклови́чная тля, мо́шка
  • свеклови́чная тля (sveklovíčnaja tlja)agricultural pest
  • мо́шка (móška)fly of the Simuliidae
Spanish mosca negra
  • mosca negrafly of the Simuliidae
Swedish knott
  • knottfly of the Simuliidae
Cite this entry
APA

blackfly. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blackfly

MLA

“blackfly.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blackfly. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “blackfly,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blackfly.

Source: blackfly on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.