| 1. | 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. |
| 2. | the North American larva of M. disstria (forest tent caterpillar), which spins a dense net. |
| forest tent caterpillar | |
noun | |
| larvae of a gregarious North American moth that spins a web resembling a carpet rather than a tent; serious defoliator of deciduous trees |