Inquiline
Definition, Meaning & Examples
Pronunciation /ˈɪŋkwɪlaɪn/ · Part of speech noun
Quick meaning: Inquiline is a noun meaning (biology) An animal that lives commensally in the nest, burrow, gall, or dwelling place of an animal of another species.
Meaning
(biology) An animal that lives commensally in the nest, burrow, gall, or dwelling place of an animal of another species.
More Meanings
- (biology) An organism that lives within a reservoir of water collected in the hollow of a plant stem or leaf.
Example Sentences
A reproductive female inquiline gains access to a host nest and usually kills the resident queen.
Queens of socially parasitic inquiline ants reproduce by laying eggs in the colonies of other species.
The other study[…]involved the larvae of the caterpillar Maculinea rebeli, an inquiline of Myrmica schenki.
The insect and other animal inhabitants of the pitchers, known collectively as the inquilines, may benefit the plants by breaking down prey and making nutrients available for plant absorption.
Word Forms
- inquilines
Related Words
Related dictionary entries include inquilinism, guest, synanthrope, burrower, cuniculus, xenicid.
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Sources & Attribution
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.