noun
mosquito larva; wriggler
Refers specifically to the aquatic larva of mosquitoes. The gloss 'maggot' is a loose equivalent and not a precise biological term; avoid using it for fly larvae.
水たまりにボウフラがわいていた。
Mosquito larvae were breeding in the puddle.
ボウフラは蚊の幼虫だ。
A wriggler is a mosquito larva.
Search-only katakana variant with long vowel; not a standard spelling.
Hiragana spelling is also used, but less common than katakana.
Rare kanji form; almost never used in modern writing.
Rare kanji form; almost never used in modern writing.
Rare kanji form; almost never used in modern writing.
The origin is uncertain. Possibly from 棒振り (bōfuri, 'stick-waving'), referring to the wriggling movement, but this is speculative.