Paleacrita vernata, the spring cankerworm, is a moth of the family Geometridae.

It is found in North America from the Atlantic Ocean west to Alberta, Texas and California.

[2] The larvae feed on various deciduous trees and shrubs, but especially Acer, Ulmus, Betula and Prunus species.

The eggs hatch, turning into numerous inch-long worms that can defoliate and kill a tree.

Usually they are suspended by a line of silk that they can climb back into the tree along, should a spring wind dislodge them from their meal of leaves.