brown-tail moth

[broun-teyl]

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.

Origin of brown-tail moth

First recorded in 1775–85

Also called brown·tail.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

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