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brown-tail moth

[ broun-teyl ]
/ ˈbraʊnˌteɪl /
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noun
a white moth, Nygmia phaerrhoea, having a brown tuft at the end of the abdomen, the larvae of which feed on the foliage of various shade and fruit trees.
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In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…
Also called browntail .

Origin of brown-tail moth

First recorded in 1775–85
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use brown-tail moth in a sentence

  • Happy is the community which does not know the brown-tail moth.

    Natural Wonders|Edwin Tenney Brewster

British Dictionary definitions for brown-tail moth

brown-tail moth

noun
a small brown-and-white European moth, Euproctis phaeorrhoea, naturalized in the eastern US where it causes damage to shade trees: family Lymantriidae (or Liparidae)See also tussock moth
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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