Meanings
plural cuckoo wasps · alternative cuckoo-wasp
- Any of the many wasps of the family Chrysididae that are kleptoparasites or parasitoids and are often brightly coloured.
In this volume the author presents an account of the ants and cuckoo wasps.
1904, Experiment Station Record, volume 15, page 2802 more examples
In our account of the mason-wasps, we have referred to the destruction of their grubs by the interposition of the ruby-tails or cuckoo-wasps.
1916, Edward Step, Marvels of Insect Life: A Popular Account of Structure and Habit, page 470Dr. L. H. Taylor determined the cuckoo-wasps (Chrysididae); Dr. H. T. Fernald the Sphecidae;[…].
1921, Bulletin of the Boston Society of Natural History, volumes 25-48, page 133Synonyms: chrysidid
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAny of the many wasps of the family Chrysididae that are kleptoparasites or parasitoids and are often brightly coloured.
Cite this entry
cuckoo wasp. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cuckoo%20wasp
“cuckoo wasp.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cuckoo%20wasp. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cuckoo wasp,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cuckoo%20wasp.
Source: cuckoo wasp on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.