Definition of cotton stainer in English:

noun

• A North American bug which feeds on cotton bolls, causing reddish staining of the fibres.

  Genus Dysdercus, family Pyrrhocoridae, suborder Heteroptera: several species, in particular D. suturellus

  Example sentences

  • ‘The life cycles of the pale cotton stainer and the cotton harlequin bug have not been fully studied.’
  • ‘Empty weavers' nests dangled from lifeless tree branches and flea beetles and cotton stainer bugs provided the only movement in that empty place.’
  • ‘Okra is grown nearby to attract away cotton stainers - one insect that the ants don't attack.’
  • ‘When these antihormones are applied to immature cotton stainers and Mexican bean beetles, the insects grow into sterile adults.’
  • ‘Pungent smoke from the desiccated shrubs wafted through the cotton fields, instantly driving out the cotton stainers, which ruin cotton by puncturing the seeds, releasing oils that stain the boll.’