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# greenfly

noun (a greenfly, greenfly or greenflies)

«greenfly» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

A greenfly is a tiny green insect, a kind of aphid, that sucks sap from plants and can damage them. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/greenfly/#m1)

### In the lessons

In gardens and science lessons greenfly are pests that cluster on rose buds and new shoots; ladybirds and their larvae eat lots of them, so ladybirds help gardeners. Greenfly make a sticky liquid called honeydew that ants like. Phrases: «covered in greenfly», «a plague of greenfly», «get rid of greenfly».

### Examples

- The roses are covered in greenfly. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/greenfly/#x1)
- Ladybirds eat greenfly. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/greenfly/#x2)
- Greenfly suck the sap from plants. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/greenfly/#x3)
- We sprayed the plants with soapy water to get rid of the greenfly. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/greenfly/#x4)
- A single ladybird can eat dozens of greenfly a day. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/greenfly/#x5)
- Ants were collecting honeydew from the greenfly. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/greenfly/#x6)
- Greenfly cluster on the new shoots. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/greenfly/#x7)
- The greenfly made the leaves curl up. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/greenfly/#x8)

### Note

Mostly British, Irish, Australian and NZ English; Americans usually say «aphid». Plural is often «greenfly» (same as singular) or «greenflies». Despite the name, a greenfly is not a true fly. In food chains: plant → greenfly → ladybird → bird.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «greenfly» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/greenfly/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«greenfly» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/greenfly.html) on Mova free.