ˌepəˈkȯd.ə noun
Usage: capitalized
Etymology: New Latin, from Greek epikautē, feminine of epikautos burned at the tip, from epikaiein to burn on the surface, burn at the top, from epi- + kaiein to burn — more at caustic
: a cosmopolitan genus of blister beetles that feed on various cultivated plants as adults and that as larvae are predacious in egg masses or nests of insects