The geometer moths are moths belonging to the family Geometridae of the insect order Lepidoptera, the moths and butterflies. Their scientific name derives from the Ancient Greek geo γεω, and metron μέτρον "measure" in reference to the way their larvae, or inchworms, appear to measure the earth as they move along in a looping fashion. Geometridae is a very large family, containing around 23,000 described species; over 1400 species from six subfamilies are indigenous to North America alone. A well-known member is the peppered moth, Biston betularia, which has been the subject of numerous studies in population genetics. Several other geometer moths are notorious pests.
The common wave is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli in his 1763 Entomologia Carniolica. It is found throughout the Palearctic region and the Near East.
The brimstone moth is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. It should not be confused with the brimstone butterfly Gonepteryx rhamni.
The argent and sable moth is a day-flying moth of the family Geometridae, with distinctive black and white colors. They tend to live on wetlands and hillsides. The larvae spin together the leaves of their food plants to form their cocoons. It was named argent and sable in 1778. Argent and sable refer to the heraldic color names for white and black. Their distribution is Holarctic. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.
Perizoma albulata, the grass rivulet, is a moth of the genus Perizoma in the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775.
Biston strataria, the oak beauty, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is native to Europe, the Balkan countries and the Black Sea region as far as Asia Minor and the Caucasus. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1767. B. strataria is found in a variety of habitats, but is mostly found in woodlands where it rests on the bark of trees, camouflaged by its mottled black and grey wings. The male has feather-like antennae while those of the female are more thread-like. The moth has a wingspan of 40 to 56 mm.
Camptogramma bilineata, the yellow shell, is a colourful moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. It can be found in Europe and east across the Palearctic to the Altai Mountains.
Orthonama vittata, the oblique carpet, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Moritz Balthasar Borkhausen in 1794. It is found throughout the Palearctic realm.
Idaea straminata, the plain wave, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found in Europe including West Russia and Balkans.
Idaea subsericeata, the satin wave, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Adrian Hardy Haworth in 1809. It is found from central and southern Europe, North Africa, Asia Minor to Transcaspia.
Idaea dilutaria, also called the silky wave, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found in Europe.
Eupithecia tripunctaria, the white-spotted pug, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species can be found from Europe to Korea and Japan and in North America.
Scopula nigropunctata, the sub-angled wave, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found through most of the Palearctic realm.
Dyscia fagaria, the grey scalloped bar, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Carl Peter Thunberg in 1784 and it can be found in Europe.
Asthena is a genus of moths in the family Geometridae.
Venusia cambrica, the Welsh wave, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found in Europe, western and central Siberia, Altai, Transbaikalia, the Russian Far East, the Korean Peninsula, Japan and in North America, where it can be found across Canada from Newfoundland and Labrador to British Columbia, south in the west to California, south in the east to Georgia.
Eupithecia pygmaeata, the marsh pug, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is known from most of Europe, western and southern Siberia, the Russian Far East, northern Mongolia and North America .The species primarily colonizes floodplain and disused forests, bogs, river banks and marshy meadows. E. pygmaeata reaches up to 1800 meters in South Tyrol.
Hydrelia flammeolaria, the small yellow wave, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1767 It is found in most of the Palearctic realm, from western Europe to Japan.
Asthena anseraria is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is known from most of Europe, east to Korea.
Pleuroprucha insulsaria, the common tan wave moth, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Achille Guenée in 1857. It is found in eastern North America, from Nova Scotia to Florida, west to Texas and Colorado and north to Ontario. It ranges south through Mexico and Central America into South America and has been recorded as far south as the Galápagos Islands. It has also been recorded from the West Indies, including Jamaica.
