| any moth of the family Cossidae, as Prionoxystus robiniae of the U.S. and southern Canada, whose larvae bore into the trunks and branches of oaks, locusts, and other trees. |
carpenter moth
any member of a group of insects in the moth and butterfly order, Lepidoptera, whose pale, nearly hairless larvae bore in wood or pithy stems and can be highly destructive. The larvae live one to three years. Adults have vestigial mouthparts, long, thick bodies, and gray to brown wings that are frequently mottled or spotted. The wingspan varies from under 2.5 cm (1 inch) in the temperate zone to about 25 cm (10 inches) in Xyleutes boisduvali of Australia.
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