wekiu bug

noun

An insect in either of two species in the family Lygaeidae, Nysius wekiucola (found on Mauna Kea on the island of Hawaii) and Nysius wekiucola (found on the neighboring Mauna Loa), notable for living above the snow line at temperatures constantly below freezing, and for feeding on frozen insects (all other species in the family feed on plants).

OriginHawaiian Puʻu Wēkiu →
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Meanings

nounwekiu bug (plural wekiu bugs)

plural wekiu bugs

  1. An insect in either of two species in the family Lygaeidae, Nysius wekiucola (found on Mauna Kea on the island of Hawaii) and Nysius wekiucola (found on the neighboring Mauna Loa), notable for living above the snow line at temperatures constantly below freezing, and for feeding on frozen insects (all other species in the family feed on plants).

Origin

  1. HawaiianPuʻu Wēkiu
  2. Englishwekiu bug

From Hawaiian Puʻu Wēkiu, the highest peak on Mauna Kea, where the first specimen was found.

More words from Hawaiian

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

wekiu bug. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wekiu%20bug

MLA

“wekiu bug.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wekiu%20bug. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wekiu bug,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wekiu%20bug.

Source: wekiu bug on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.