noun
- caterpillars that are destructive pests of fruit and shade trees, especially elm and apple trees
Usage: entomology; plural form
Examples
- The cankerworms stripped all the leaves from our apple trees.
- Spring cankerworms emerge early in the season to feed on new foliage.
- The city sprayed the elm trees to control the cankerworm infestation.
- Cankerworms move by arching their bodies in a looping motion.
- The gardener wrapped tree trunks with bands to prevent cankerworms from climbing up.
- Fall cankerworms can cause significant damage to deciduous trees.