‖ sericterium Entom.
(sɛrɪkˈtɪərɪəm)
Pl. -eria (-ˈɪərɪə). Also anglicized serictery (sɪˈrɪktərɪ).
[mod.L., irreg. f. Gr. σηρικόν silk (see Seric) + -τηριον, after sialisterium (σιαλιστήριον) salivary gland of insects.]
A glandular apparatus in silkworms for the production of silk; a silk or spinning gland.
| 1826 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. xli. (1828) IV. 137 In the sericterium the fluid that produces it [sc. silk] is sometimes white or grey. 1875 Blake Zool. 287 The two fine filaments from the sericteria are glued together by another secretion from a small gland. 1898 Packard Text-bk. Entomol. 337 In the imago the sericteries revert to their primitive shape and use as salivary glands. |