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Glite Dictionary
Lymantria dispar

Lymantria dispar

9.9
A moth that eats the leaves of many trees and damages forests and urban trees in North America
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : Lymantria dispar
  • Lymantria dispar has caused extensive damage to oak forests in North America.

Examples

  • The spread of Lymantria dispar poses a threat to urban and rural trees alike.

  • Efforts to control Lymantria dispar have included biological and chemical methods.

  • The Lymantria dispar is known for its destructive larvae.

  • Farmers are concerned about Lymantria dispar infestations.

  • Lymantria dispar has caused extensive damage to oak forests in North America.

  • Efforts to control Lymantria dispar have included biological and chemical methods.

  • The spread of Lymantria dispar poses a threat to urban and rural trees alike.

Synonyms

gypsy moth
vsLymantria dispar
  • NSFW
1 7.4

A large moth from Europe whose caterpillar eats many tree leaves and can leave trees bare

is the alternative common name used for the same pest species in North America

Surface Forms

Lymantria dispar singular
Lymantria dispars plural

Morphology

Lymantria + dispar

This is a scientific Latin binomial (a species name) and functions as a proper noun rather than a compositional phrase; knowing the genus 'Lymantria' (a moth) does not allow a learner to infer the specific species meaning, and 'dispar' is not a common English word with a clear contribution. Taxonomic names are arbitrary labels across languages and must generally be learned as vocabulary items, so the meaning is not derivable from the constituents for a B1 learner.

Etymology

Lymantria dispar may come from old Greek and Latin words. The name links Lymantria ('destroyer') because the caterpillar eats many leaves and dispar ('unequal') because the male and female look very different, so the name reminds us it is a tree-eating moth with different-looking sexes.