brown-tail moth

American  

[broun-teyl] / ˈbraʊnˌteɪl /

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.

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brown-tail moth British  

noun

1. 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

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Etymology

Origin of brown-tail moth

First recorded in 1775–85

Example Sentences

The insects usually legislated against are San Jose scale, gypsy moth and brown-tail moth, while the diseases usually interdicted are yellows, black knot, peach rosette, and pear blight.

From The Young Farmer: Some Things He Should Know by Hunt, Thomas Forsyth

In Europe the brown-tail moth and the gypsy moth produce continuously a certain amount of damage to the trees, but their parasitic enemies have developed with them and check their increase.

From Disease and Its Causes by Councilman, William Thomas