tent caterpillar
- 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.
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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 AppleVarious
My trees are troubled with canker-worm, tent-caterpillar, flathead borer, and leaf-roller.
The AppleVarious
My trees are troubled with canker-worm, tent-caterpillar, bud moth, and flathead borer.
The AppleVarious
My trees are troubled with flathead borer and tent-caterpillar, and my apples with codling-moth.
The AppleVarious
My trees are troubled with tent-caterpillar and flathead borer, and my apples with codling-moth.
The AppleVarious
tent caterpillar
- the larva of various moths of the family Lasiocampidae, esp Malacosoma americana of North America, which build communal webs in trees
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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