brown-tail moth

[ broun-teyl ]

noun

1. 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.

brown-tail moth

noun

1. See tussock moth
   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

Word History and Origins

Origin of brown-tail moth¹

First recorded in 1775–85

Example Sentences

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

From Project Gutenberg