Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

soie

English translation:

setae (hairs or bristles)

Added to glossary by Charles Davis
Aug 16, 2015 18:02
8 yrs ago
1 viewer *
French term

soie

French to English Science Zoology
In a document about bees, I have the following sentence:

Des substances chimiques sont retenues à la surface du corps de l'insecte (cuticule, soies, pattes) pouvant, selon leur nature et leur toxicité, provoquer sa mort.

Various chemical substances are retained on the insect's surface (e.g. cuticle, ..., legs) and may, depending on their nature and toxicity, cause death.

Anyone seen "soie" to do with bees or other insects?
Thanks in advance!
Proposed translations (English)
4 +3 setae
3 +2 hairs
3 +1 bristles
Change log

Aug 27, 2015 10:59: Charles Davis Created KOG entry

Proposed translations

+3
21 mins
Selected

setae

Taking up Tony's challenge... If you do want a more "technical" term, this, I think, is it. Actually "hairs" is perfectly OK, and many bee-related texts use it. They are specifically the "hairs" on the bee's legs which it uses as "combs" and "brushes". Here's a nice page on bees' legs:
http://www.bumblebee.org/bodyLegs.htm#combs and brushes

"Le premier segment des trois paires de pattes possède une touffe de soies à sa face interne [...]"
https://books.google.es/books?id=_VvsNzmvkp4C&pg=PA532&lpg=P...

"Seta, plural: setae, is a biological term derived from the Latin word for "bristle". It refers to a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seta

"The term scopa (Latin: a broom) is used to refer to any of a number of different modifications on the body of a non-parasitic bee that form a pollen-carrying apparatus. In most bees, the scopa is simply a particularly dense mass of elongated, often branched, hairs (or setae) on the hind leg."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scopa_(biology)

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Note added at 21 mins (2015-08-16 18:24:22 GMT)
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Sorry, your question is "soie", singular, and the singular of setae is seta, so that should really have been my answer.
Note from asker:
Thank you! This is great.
Peer comment(s):

agree Tony M : Brilliant! trust that man to come up with the goods :-)
3 mins
Ha! Thanks, Tony :) Though I think this is more of a footnote to yours and Patrick's really.
agree Yolanda Broad
3 hrs
Thank you, Yolanda!
agree Michele Fauble : I suggest 'hairs (setae)'.
5 hrs
That sounds like a good compromise. Thanks, Michele :)
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
+2
6 mins

hairs

Bees have 'hairy' bodies — soft, silky hair, which probably isn't actual 'hair' at all, but some kind of cilla.

But you'd better check if there is a more technical term for it!
Peer comment(s):

agree Charles Davis : "Hair" is OK
15 mins
Thanks, Charles!
agree Michele Fauble : I suggest 'hairs (setae)'.
5 hrs
Merci, Michele !
Something went wrong...
+1
21 mins
French term (edited): soies

bristles

From the body surface of the insect there arises a profusion of fine bristles most of which have a sensory function,
http://www.biology-resources.com/insect-structure.html
Peer comment(s):

agree Charles Davis : Yes, this is really what they are.
1 min
Thanks Charles! I used plural as in the text it reads "soies" and I changed it (see above) soies/bristles
Something went wrong...
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