Meanings
- not comparablebiologyOf, relating to, or being a type of social wasp nest, in which brood combs are attached laterally to the inner surface of the sack-like envelope.
The members of this distinctive genus are rather rare, the males especially so. They were described by Araujo. The nests are phragmocyttarous.
1978, Owain Westmacott Richards, The social wasps of the Americas excluding the Vespinae, British Museum (Natural History), page 1582 more examples
In Ducke's classification, Polybia is placed with those species that are paper workers, are polygynous, make a nest with an envelope, and are completely phragmocyttarous.
1933, Philip Rau, The Jungle Bees and Wasps of Barro Colorado Island, P. Rau, page 46The species of Polybia build phragmocyttarous nests which consist of one to many combs attached to a branch, leaf or rock, surrounded by an envelope of carton or of mud containing an exit hole at the side or bottom of the comb. A number of species enlarge the nest by adding sue-
1979, Catalog of Hymenoptera in America North of Mexico: Apocrita (Aculeata), Smithsonian Institution Press, page 1517
Origin
- Ancient Greekφρᾰγμός
- Englishphragmocyttarous
From phragmo-, from Ancient Greek φρᾰγμός (phrăgmós) + κύτταρος (kúttaros).
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
phragmocyttarous. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phragmocyttarous
“phragmocyttarous.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phragmocyttarous. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “phragmocyttarous,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phragmocyttarous.
Source: phragmocyttarous on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.