valvifer Ent.
(ˈvælvɪfə(r))
[f. L. valva valve n.1 + -i- + L. -fer (see -ferous).]
In some insects, a modified coxa on each of the eighth and ninth abdominal segments that forms a basal plate of the ovipositor and bears a valvula.
| 1917 G. C. Crampton in Jrnl. N.Y. Entomol. Soc. XXV. 236 Basal sclerite of valvula of ovipositor (Valvifer). 1935 R. E. Snodgrass Princ. Insect Morphol. xix. 611 The basal apparatus consists essentially of two pairs of lobes or plates, the first and second valvifers..which support the ovipositor shaft by the bases of the valvulae. 1981 Animal Behaviour XXIX. 299/1 The valvifers at its base could be seen to be moving rhythmically back and forth. |