PALMER  , a

pilgrim who as a sign or token that he had made pilgrimage to Palestine carried a palm-branch attached to his staff, or more frequently a cross made of two strips of palm-leaf fastened to his hat . The word is frequently used as synonymous with " pilgrim " (see PILGRIMAGE) . The name "palmer " or " palmer-worm " is often given to many kinds of hairy cater-pillars, specifically to that of the destructive tineid moth, Ypsilophus pometella . The name is either due to the English use of " palm " for the blossom or catkin of the willow-tree, to which the caterpillars bear some resemblance, or to the wandering pilgrim-like habits of such caterpillars .