Dictionary
tent' cat"erpillar
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.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.