Maggot

Maggot

A maggot is the larva of a fly (order Diptera); it is applied in particular to the larvae of Brachyceran flies, such as houseflies, cheese flies, and blowflies, rather than larvae of the Nematocera, such as mosquitoes and Crane flies. "Maggot" is not a technical term and should not be taken as such; in many standard textbooks of entomology it does not appear in the index at all. In many non-technical texts the term is used for insect larvae in general. Other sources have coined their own definitions; for example: "... The term applies to a grub when all trace of limbs has disappeared ..." and "...Applied to the footless larvae of Dipters."

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Famous quotes containing the word maggot:

    Yet some can be patriotic who have no self-respect, and sacrifice the greater to the less. They love the soil which makes their graves, but have no sympathy for the spirit which may still animate their clay. Patriotism is a maggot in their heads.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

    But time has set its maggot on their track.
    Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)

    Taffeta phrases, silken phrases precise,
    Three-piled hyperbole, spruce affectation,
    Figures pedantical—these summer flies
    Have blown me full of maggot ostentation.
    I do forswear them.
    William Shakespeare (1564–1616)