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having showy red, white, or purple flowers. Phlox worm (Zoöl.), the larva of an American moth (Heliothis phloxiphaga). It is destructive to phloxes. -- Phlox subulata, the moss pink. See under Moss.

tempt. "If I had not been a piece of a logician before I came to him." Sir P. Sidney. Thy mother was a piece of virtue. Shak. His own spirit is as unsettled a piece as there is in all the world. Coleridge. a piece of cake, a task easily accomplished. a piece of work, a disparaging term for a person considered to have a…

lso sweet marten, and yellow-breasted marten. (b) The American sable. See Sable. -- Pine moth (Zoöl.), any one of several species of small tortricid moths of the genus Retinia, whose larvæ burrow in the ends of the branchlets of pine trees, often doing great damage. -- Pine mouse (Zoöl.), an American wild mouse (Arvi…

A moth of the genus Lithophane, as L. antennata, whose larva bores large holes in young peaches and apples.

To act; to behave; to practice deception. His mother played false with a smith. Shak.

om the Mediterranean region. The name is sometimes extended to the whole genus. -- Plume moth (Zoöl.), any one of numerous small, slender moths, belonging to the family Pterophoridæ. Most of them have the wings deeply divided into two or more plumelike lobes. Some species are injurious to the grapevine. -- Plume nutm…

See Pneumothorax.

A very large American moth (Telea polyphemus) belonging to the Silkworm family (Bombycidæ). Its larva, which is very large, bright green, with silvery tubercles, and with oblique white stripes on the sides, feeds on the oak, chestnut, willow, cherry, apple, and other trees. It produces a large amount of strong silk. Ca…

Born after the death of the father, or taken from the dead body of the mother; as, a posthumous son or daughter.

oes or potato starch. -- Potato worm (Zoöl.), the large green larva of a sphinx, or hawk moth (Macrosila quinquemaculata); -- called also tomato worm. See Illust. under Tomato. -- Seaside potato (Bot.), Ipomoea Pes-Capræ, a kind of morning-glory with rounded and emarginate or bilobed leaves. [West Indies] -- Sweet po…

ning to a procession; consisting in processions; as, processionary service. Processionary moth (Zoöl.), any moth of the genus Cnethocampa, especially C. processionea of Europe, whose larvæ make large webs on oak trees, and go out to feed in regular order. They are covered with stinging hairs.

Any species of small moths of the genus Procris. The larvæ of some species injure the grapevine by feeding in groups upon the leaves.

A large American bombycid moth (Callosamia promethea). Its larva feeds on the sassafras, wild cherry, and other trees, and suspends its cocoon from a branch by a silken band.

Eminent; distinguished above others; as, a prominent character. Prominent' moth (Zoöl.), any moth of the family Notodontidæ; a notodontian; -- so called because the larva has a hump or prominence on its back. Several of the species are injurious to fruit trees.

establish or discover a fact or truth; an act of testing; a test; a trial. For whatsoever mother wit or art Could work, he put in proof. Spenser. You shall have many proofs to show your skill. Ford. Formerly, a very rude mode of ascertaining the strength of spirits was practiced, called the proof. Ure.…

A word, or a manner of speaking, peculiar to a province or a district remote from the mother country or from the metropolis; a provincial characteristic; hence, narrowness; illiberality. M. Arnold.

The bee moth, or wax moth (Galleria).

Any small moth of the genus Psyche and allied genera (family Psychidæ). The larvæ are called basket worms. See Basket worm, under Basket.

Any moth of the genus Pterophorus and allied genera; a plume moth. See Plume moth, under Plume.

Any geometrid moth of the genus Eupithecia.