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Definition of Mexican jumping bean
1. Noun. Seed of Mexican shrubs of the genus Sebastiana containing the larva of a moth whose movements cause the bean to jerk or tumble.
Group relationships: Genus Sebastiana, Sebastiana
Generic synonyms: Seed
Definition of Mexican jumping bean
1. Noun. A type of seed of a shrub of the genus ''Sebastiania'' in which a larva has hatched from an egg laid there by a moth, the movement of the larva causing the seed to move around. ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Lexicographical Neighbors of Mexican Jumping Bean
Literary usage of Mexican jumping bean
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. Report of the Secretary of Agriculture by United States Dept. of Agriculture (1894)
"Yon have doubtless heard of the Mexican jumping bean. \Vill you bo kind enough
to inform mo whether this beau actually grows in Mexico; and if so, ..."
2. The Natural History of Plants: Their Forms, Growth, Reproduction, and by Anton Kerner von Marilaun (1902)
"... of the " Mexican jumping bean ", the larvae are those of the small lepidopterous
insect named Car/Mta/aa ..."
3. Sunset by Southern Pacific Company, Southern Pacific Company. Passenger Dept (1914)
"... but the eggs, about to hatch, of a tiny black fly that deposits them on the
under side of the leaves of oaks. "Did you see the Mexican jumping' bean? ..."
4. The Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation by James William Tutt, Malcolm Burr (1890)
"These cases become detached and move on the ground by little hops somewhat like
the Mexican jumping bean. ..."