stem borer

noun

stem borer

noun

Etymology From stem + borer.

1

Any insect larva, or arthropod, that bores into plant stems.

The Manitoba maple was subject to a stem-borer which destroyed its growing tips, and in any case it had a diffuse, shrubby growth which never concentrated naturally into a single trunk.1972, James M. Minifie, Homesteader, A Prairie Boyhood Recalled, page 121:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.