cankerworm
9.9
A green caterpillar that eats the leaves of fruit and shade trees
- noun
- /ˈkæŋkərˌwɜrm/
- US
:
oruga de la cancro
- During spring, many trees suffer from cankerworms that devour their tender leaves.
Examples
-
But hark ye, my merry friend, hast ever thought that beneath this gay and frivolous exterior there may lurk a cankerworm?
-
The cankerworm feeds on the leaves of fruit trees, causing damage to the crop.
-
Farmers often use traps to reduce the number of cankerworms that infest their orchards.
Synonyms
inchworm
vscankerworm
3
5.3
A small green caterpillar that moves by making a loop with its body
focuses on feeding damage to trees rather than on its looping movement
Compounds
fall cankerworm
- Specialized
9.9
A green or brown caterpillar with white stripes that eats tree leaves in autumn
spring cankerworm
- Specialized
9.9
A caterpillar that eats leaves from trees like elm and maple in early spring
Surface Forms
cankerworm singular
cankerworms plural
Morphology
Etymology
The word cankerworm comes from the parts canker ('a sore or plant disease') and worm ('a small, creeping creature like a caterpillar'), so it literally names an insect that eats and damages tree leaves.