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
Words nearby tent caterpillar
tensor muscle of soft palate,
tensor muscle of tympanic membrane,
tent,
tent 1,
tent bed,
tent caterpillar,
tent circus,
tent city,
tent dress,
tent fly,
tent meeting
Example sentences from the Web for tent caterpillar
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