Now updated for CSW19. New words, if any, and new inflections of existing words, are shown in red.
adonis | a beautiful blue butterfly. |
aphrodite | a kind of butterfly. |
apollo | a large tropical butterfly > APOLLOS. |
arctiid | a moth of the Arctiidae family. |
argus | a butterfly with many eye-spots on its wings > ARGUSES. |
armyworm | the larva of a small moth that moves in large armies destroying crops. |
aweto awato awhato awheto | the so-called vegetable caterpillar of New Zealand. |
bagworm | one of several lepidopterous insects which construct, in the larval state, a baglike case which they carry about for protection. |
birdwing | a large tropical butterfly. |
bobowler | a type of large moth. |
bogong bugong | a noctuid moth eaten by Australian aborigines. |
bollworm | the larva of a moth which devours the bolls or unripe pods of the cotton plant. |
bombycid bombycoid | like or pertaining to the genus Bombyx, silkworms. |
bombyx | a moth of the genus Bombyx, which includes the silkworm moth. |
brimstone | a yellow butterfly. |
browntail | as in browntail moth, a kind of moth. No —S. |
budworm | a moth larva that feeds on plant buds. |
burnet | a moth of the genus Zygaena, having red-spotted wings. |
butterfly | can be a verb: to split almost entirely and spread apart e.g. a steak. |
cabbageworm | the larva of the cabbage butterfly. |
cactoblastis | a moth introduced into Australia as a biolgical control for the prickly pear > CACTOBLASTES. |
cankerworm | the larva of two species of geometrid moths which are very injurious to fruit and shade trees by eating, and often entirely destroying, the foliage. |
cardinal | a S. European butterfly. |
caterpillar | the elongated wormlike larva of a butterfly or moth. |
cinnabar | a kind of moth. |
clearwing | a transparent-winged moth of the family Sesiidae, often resembling wasps. |
cleopatra | a yellow butterfly. |
codlin codling quodlin | a kind of moth. |
comma | a kind of butterfly with strongly indented wing margins. |
cornborer | a European moth whose larvae have become a pest of maize in America. |
cornmoth | a moth of the clothes-moth genus. |
cornworm | a corn weevil, a corn moth larva. |
cutworm | a caterpillar, esp. of the moth genus Agrotis, that feeds on the stems of young plants. |
drepanid | a hook-tip moth. |
earworm | a BOLLWORM, the larva of a moth which devours the bolls or unripe pods of the cotton plant. |
eggar egger | any of several large brown moths. |
eruciform | like or resembling a caterpillar. |
fireworm | the larva of a small TORTRICID moth which eats the leaves of the cranberry, so that the vines look as if burned. |
forester | any of various noctuid moths. |
fritillary | any of several kinds of spotted butterfly. |
fruitworm | any of numerous insect larvae mainly of the orders Diptera and Lepidoptera that feed on or in fruits. |
gatekeeper | any of several Eurasian butterflies of the genus Pyronia. |
geometer | a geometrid caterpillar or moth. |
geometrid | any moth of the Geometridae, whose caterpillars are loopers. |
goldtail | as in goldtail moth, a European moth with a yellow tail tuft. No —S. |
graine | silkworm eggs. |
grayling | a woodland butterfly. |
hairstreak | a butterfly of the genus Thecla. |
hawkmoth | a kind of large moth. |
hesperid | any of numerous small butterflies of the family Hesperiidae, somewhat like moths; a skipper. |
hopdog | the tussock moth caterpillar. |
hornworm | a hawkmoth caterpillar. |
inchworm | another name for the LOOPER caterpillar. |
leafworm | a moth larva that feeds on leaves. |
lepidopteran | an insect such as moth or butterfly. |
lepidopterid | a moth or butterfly. |
lepidopterous | having four wings, such as a moth or butterfly. |
looper | a caterpillar of the Geometridae, so called from its mode of walking. |
luna | a North American moth with crescent-shaped markings. [L. luna, moon]. |
lycaenid | any member of the Lycaenidae, a family of butterflies. |
metalmark | one of a family of tropical butterflies. |
monarch | an American butterfly that migrates in large numbers. |
morpho | a kind of tropical butterfly > MORPHOS. [Gk. Morpho, a name of Aphrodite]. |
mothlike | like a moth. |
mothproof | to make proof against moths. |
mothy | full of moths > MOTHIER, MOTHIEST. |
noctua | a general name for any moth of the family Noctuidae. |
noctuid | a kind of night-flying moth. |
noctuoid | of or like a NOCTUID, a night-flying moth. |
notodontid | a member of the Notodontidae genus of moths. |
nymphalid | any butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. |
oobit oubit woubit woobut | a hairy caterpillar, esp. of the tiger moth. |
palmerworm | any destructive caterpillar. |
papilio | a genus of butterflies. [L. papilio, butterfly]. |
peacock | a kind of butterfly, with prominent eye-spots. |
pierid pieridine | relating to the family Pieridae of butterflies, that includes the whites, brimstones, and sulphurs. |
porina | the larva of a moth that damages grassland. |
prominent | a stout drab-coloured moth with tufts on the forewings which stick up while at rest, the caterpillars of which typically have fleshy growths on the back. |
pug | any of several small geometrid moths. |
pyralid pyralis pyralidid | a kind of moth. [Gk. pyralis, from pyr, fire]. |
quodlin | see CODLIN. |
ringlet | any of numerous butterflies of the genus Erebia, which have dark brown wings marked with small black-and-white eyespots. |
saturniid | any of a family of large tropical moths. |
satyrid | any butterfly of the family SATYRIDAE. |
silkworm | the larva of the Chinese moth Bombyx mori, that feeds on the leaves of the mulberry tree: widely cultivated as a source of silk. |
skeletonizer skeletoniser | any of the larva of various moths that feed on leaves reducing them to skeletons. |
skipper | any small butterfly of the family Hesperiidae, having a hairy mothlike body and erratic darting flight. |
spanworm | the larva of any geometrid moth, such as the CANKERWORM. |
sphingid | a member of the Sphingidae family, hawk-moths. |
swallowtail | any of various butterflies of the genus PAPILIO. |
tineid | a moth of the family TINEIDAE. |
tortoiseshell | a kind of butterfly with colourful markings. |
tortricid | any moth of the family Tortricidae. |
tortrix | a tortricid moth, esp. of the genus Tortrix; a leaf-roller moth > TORTRIXES or TORTRICES. |
troilus | a large American butterfly > TROILUSES. |
underwing | any of various moths with conspicuous hindwings. |
vanessa vanessid | a butterfly of the red admiral genus Vanessa. [Perhaps for Phanessa, from Greek Phanes, a mystic divinity]. |
vaporer vapourer | a day-flying moth of the genus Orgyia. |
viceroy | a showy North American nymphalid butterfly. |
waxworm | a moth that infests beehives. |
webworm | any of a number of caterpillars that spin webs in which they rest. |
witchetty | any of the edible grubs of certain moths and longhorn beetles. [Aborig. wityu hooked stick + varti grub.] |
woobut | see OOBIT. |
woubit | see OOBIT. |
zygaenid zygaenoid | relating to the moth family Zygaenidae, that includes burnet moths. |