spruce budworm

noun

: a tortricid moth (Choristoneura fumiferana) whose larva feeds on evergreen trees (such as spruce and balsam fir) in the northern U.S. and Canada
also : a related moth (C. occidentalis) of the northwestern U.S. and adjacent Canada

Examples of spruce budworm in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Isle Royale moose are suffering from malnutrition because their primary winter food sources, balsam fir saplings, are infested with spruce budworms. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 June 2023 Hundreds of thousands of acres of balsam fir trees north of Duluth have either died or are struggling to fight off a bloom of a pest called spruce budworm. Greg Stanley, Star Tribune, 26 June 2021 Ontario and Quebec are experiencing one of their most intense spruce budworm outbreaks in 40 years. Star Tribune, 22 Dec. 2020 But Minnesota is in the midst of a prolonged outbreak of spruce budworm, a pest and caterpillar that has killed more than 200,000 acres of fir and spruce trees in each of the last three years. Greg Stanley, Star Tribune, 14 Dec. 2020 One of the major uses of DDT was controlling insect outbreaks, like spruce budworm, in conifer forests across North America. Jason Daley, Smithsonian, 15 June 2019

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spruce budworm.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1883, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of spruce budworm was in 1883

Dictionary Entries Near spruce budworm

Cite this Entry

“Spruce budworm.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spruce%20budworm. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on spruce budworm

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!