cutworm

cut·worm  (ktwûrm)

n.

The larva of various moths of the family Noctuidae that feed on and destroy a wide variety of plants.

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[So called because many species eat through stems of plants.]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

cutworm - North American moth whose larvae feed on young plant stems cutting them off at the ground family Noctuidae, Noctuidae - cutworms; armyworms army cutworm, Chorizagrotis auxiliaris - larvae (of a noctuid moth) that travel in large groups and destroy grains and alfalfa in the midwestern states caterpillar - a wormlike and often brightly colored and hairy or spiny larva of a butterfly or moth