magpie moth

noun

1. a geometrid moth, Abraxas grossulariata, showing variable patterning in black on white or yellow, whose looper larvae attack currant and gooseberry bushes. The paler clouded magpie is A. sylvata
2. small magpie
   an unrelated micro, Eurrhypara hortulata

Example Sentences

The bushes at times suffer much from the ravages of the caterpillars of the gooseberry or magpie moth, Abraxas grossulariata, which often strip the branches of leaves in the early summer, if not destroyed before the mischief is accomplished.

From Project Gutenberg

Falstaff knew that, and, like the Magpie Moth, wisely counterfeited death to avoid the irretrievable step of dying.

From Project Gutenberg