ermine moth
Britishnoun
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Also called: ermine. an arctiid moth of the genus Spilosoma, characterized by dark spots on the light coloured wings, and producing woolly bear caterpillars
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an unrelated micro, Yponomeuta padella
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Ellie Knot, of Devon Biodiversity Records Centre, said there were eight species of ermine moth, so it was hard to tell if these were spindle ermine.
From BBC • May 13, 2026
Butterfly Conservation said was most likely caused by ermine moth caterpillars, which feed inside the webs and "are the definition of a hungry caterpillar".
From BBC • May 13, 2026
Small ermine moth caterpillars are thought to have formed the large communal web for their own protection.
From BBC • Jun. 2, 2021
Dr Sterling said the number of ermine moth caterpillars "get enormous every now and then" and there would be tens of thousands in the hedge.
From BBC • Jun. 2, 2021
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
