tent caterpillar

noun

any of the larvae of several moths of the genus Malacosoma, which feed on the leaves of orchard and shade trees and live colonially in a tentlike silken web.
the North American larva of M. disstria (forest tent caterpillar), which spins a dense net.

Origin of tent caterpillar

An Americanism dating back to 1850–55

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

Examples from the Web for tent caterpillar

Historical Examples of tent caterpillar

My trees are troubled with tent-caterpillar, bud moth, and twig-borers, and my apples with codling-moth.
The Apple
Various
My trees are troubled with canker-worm, tent-caterpillar, flathead borer, and leaf-roller.
The Apple
Various
My trees are troubled with canker-worm, tent-caterpillar, bud moth, and flathead borer.
The Apple
Various
My trees are troubled with flathead borer and tent-caterpillar, and my apples with codling-moth.
The Apple
Various
My trees are troubled with tent-caterpillar and flathead borer, and my apples with codling-moth.
The Apple
Various

British Dictionary definitions for tent caterpillar

tent caterpillar

noun

the larva of various moths of the family Lasiocampidae, esp Malacosoma americana of North America, which build communal webs in trees

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