Any of various insect larvae that feed on or inside developing fruit, often considered agricultural pests.
Compound of 'fruit' (Latin fructus) and 'worm' (Old English wyrm, originally meaning 'serpent' or 'dragon'). The term describes any larval insect that infests fruit crops.
The codling moth's larvae—the classic 'worm in the apple'—is actually the most important fruitworm in temperate regions, and farmers have battled it for millennia; it's so successful because it times its lifecycle perfectly with apple ripening, showing incredible evolutionary adaptation.
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