cankerworms
Looping leaf eaters
Cankerworms are caterpillars that feed destructively on the leaves of fruit and shade trees, particularly in North America.
The name refers to the larvae of certain moths that emerge in spring or fall and can defoliate entire trees when populations surge.
The elms along Main Street were nearly stripped bare by cankerworms this year.
In older and biblical usage, cankerworm appears as a general term for any destructive, consuming pest or corrupting influence.
Loss of foliage
- leavesTree's photosynthetic organs
- foliagePlant's leafy covering
- skeletonizeStrip to bare bones
- chewingCrushing food orally
stripping · consumption · bareness · canopy · leaflessness · devour · munch
Pest takeover situation
- defoliationLoss of foliage
- outbreakSudden eruption of trouble
- damageHarm or impairment
- blightPlant disease causing decay
plague · nuisance · control · spray · insecticide · eradicate · invasive · scourge
Moth or butterfly young
- inchwormLooping moth larva
- mothNight-flying lepidopteran
- larvaImmature feeding stage
- eggReproductive cell in shell
hatching · pupa · metamorphosis · instar · molt · emergence · pupation · adult
defoliation
Loss of foliage
- leavesTree's photosynthetic organs
- foliagePlant's leafy covering
- skeletonizeStrip to bare bones
chewing · stripping · consumption · bareness · canopy · leaflessness · devour · munch
infestation
Pest takeover situation
- defoliationLoss of foliage
- outbreakSudden eruption of trouble
- damageHarm or impairment
blight · plague · nuisance · control · spray · insecticide · eradicate · invasive · scourge · epidemic
caterpillar
Moth or butterfly young
egg · hatching · pupa · metamorphosis · instar · molt · emergence · pupation · adult · geometer
banding
Adding decorative strips
- predatorOrganism that consumes others
- birdFeathered flying vertebrate
- chickadeeSmall capped North American songbird
spray · timing · monitoring
oak
Quercus genus member
orchard · deciduous · basswood · cherry · ash · hickory · beech · linden · susceptible · branch
- caterpillarscaterpillar, inchworm, silkworm, inchworms, hornworm
cankerwormsbeneficial insects
Arthropods aiding agriculture
pollinators · ladybugs · parasitic wasps · earthworms · honeybees