The larva of certain beetles and moths that burrow into wood and damage wooden structures.
Compound word from carpenter (someone who works wood) and worm (any small burrowing creature). The name describes the creature's behavior of tunneling through wood like a carpenter removing material.
Carpenterworms can spend 3-5 years inside a single tree trunk, completely invisible on the surface, then suddenly emerge as adult insects—they're essentially eating your house from the inside out in slow motion!
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