cankerworm

can·ker·worm

C0068400 (kăng′kər-wûrm′)n. The larva of either of two geometrid moths (Paleacrita vernata or Alsophila pometaria), destructive to fruit and shade trees.

cankerworm

(ˈkæŋkəˌwɜːm) n (Animals) the larva of either of two geometrid moths, Paleacrita vernata or Alsophila pometaria, which feed on and destroy fruit and shade trees in North America

can•ker•worm

(ˈkæŋ kərˌwɜrm)

n. the striped green caterpillar of any of several geometrid moths: a foliage pest of trees. [1520–30]

Thesaurus

Noun

cankerworm - green caterpillar of a geometrid moth; pest of various fruit and shade treesfamily Geometridae, Geometridae - measuring wormsspring cankerworm - variably colored looper; larva of Paleacrita vernatafall cankerworm - green or brown white-striped looper; larva of Alsophila pometariacaterpillar - a wormlike and often brightly colored and hairy or spiny larva of a butterfly or moth

cankerworm

cankerworm,

name for two destructive inchwormsinchworm,
name for the larvae of moths of the family Geometridae, a large, cosmopolitan group with over 1,200 species indigenous to North America. Also called measuring worms, spanworms, and loopers, inchworms lack appendages in the middle portion of their body, causing them to
..... Click the link for more information. , or larvae of geometrid moths. The spring cankerworm (Paleacrita vernata) and the fall cankerworm (Alsophila pometaria) are named for the seasons at which the adults emerge from underground pupation. The spring cankerworm larva overwinters as a pupa, the fall cankerworm as an egg. The larvae, dark green to brown and about 1 in. (2.5 cm) long, feed on the leaves of orchard and shade trees. The spring cankerworm has two pairs of posterior appendages (prolegs); the fall cankerworm has three. The wingless female lays her eggs on the bark, and one control method is the placing of bands of sticky paper around the tree trunks to trap the females before laying. When alarmed, cankerworms drop and hang suspended in midair at the end of a long silken thread secreted from their mouths; they ascend this thread after the danger has passed. The English sparrow was originally introduced in the United States to combat the spring cankerworm. Cankerworms are classified in the phylum ArthropodaArthropoda
[Gr.,=jointed feet], largest and most diverse animal phylum. The arthropods include crustaceans, insects, centipedes, millipedes, spiders, scorpions, and the extinct trilobites.
..... Click the link for more information. , class Insecta, order Lepidoptera, family Geometridae. For control methods see bulletins of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.

cankerworm

[′kaŋ·kər‚wərm] (invertebrate zoology) Any of several lepidopteran insect larvae in the family Geometridae which cause severe plant damage by feeding on buds and foliage.

cankerworm

can·ker·worm

cankerworm

can•ker•worm

cankerworm

cankerworm,

cankerworm

cankerworm

Words related to cankerworm

noun green caterpillar of a geometrid moth

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