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 large emerald is a moth which is the type species for the family Geometridae. It is found throughout the Palearctic region and the Near East in and around deciduous forests, heathlands, marshland and in settlements close to woodland. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.
Hedylidae, the "American moth-butterflies", is a family of insects in the order Lepidoptera, representing the superfamily Hedyloidea. They have traditionally been viewed as an extant sister group of the butterfly superfamily Papilionoidea, but a 2014 phylogenetic analyses has suggested Hedylidae is a subgroup of Papilionoidea, and not a sister group, and are more accurately referred to as butterflies rather than moths. They are represented by a single Neotropical genus Macrosoma with 35 currently recognized species.
The Blastobasidae are a family of moths in the superfamily Gelechioidea. Its species can be found almost anywhere in the world, though in some places they are not native but introduced by humans. In some arrangements, these moths are included in the case-bearer family (Coleophoridae) as subfamily Blastobasinae. The Symmocidae are sometimes included in the Blastobasidae as subfamily or tribe.
The Macariini are a tribe of geometer moths in the subfamily Ennominae. Though they share many traits with the Sterrhinae, this is probably plesiomorphic rather than indicative of a close relationship, and DNA sequence data points to the Boarmiini as particularly close relatives of the Macariini. All things considered, this tribe might still resemble the first Ennominae more than any other living lineage in the subfamily.
Ennominae is the largest subfamily of the geometer moth family (Geometridae), with some 9,700 described species in 1,100 genera. Most species are fairly small, though some grow to be considerably large. This subfamily has a global distribution. It includes some species that are notorious defoliating pests. The subfamily was first described by Philogène Auguste Joseph Duponchel in 1845.
The Bistonini are a tribe of geometer moths in subfamily Ennominae. As numerous ennomine genera have not yet been assigned to a tribe, the genus list is preliminary. In addition, the entire tribe is sometimes merged into a much-expanded Boarmiini. In other treatments, the Erannini are included in the present group.
The Ennomini are a tribe of geometer moths in the Ennominae subfamily. They are large-bodied and rather nondescript Ennominae, overall showing many similarities to the closely related Azelinini and Nacophorini.
The Ourapterygini are one of the large tribes of geometer moths in the subfamily Ennominae. The tribe was described by Charles Théophile Bruand d'Uzelle in 1846. They are particularly plentiful in the Neotropics. Ourapterygini are generally held to be the youngest tribe of their subfamily, and at least seasonally have characteristic apomorphic asymmetrical processes of the anellus.
The Abraxini are a tribe of geometer moths in the subfamily Ennominae. Here, the Cassymini are considered a specialized offshoot of the Abraxini and merged therein; some authors consider them a distinct tribe however.
Geometrinae is the nominate subfamily of the geometer moth family (Geometridae). It is strongly split, containing a considerable number of tribes of which most are presently very small or monotypic. These small moths are often a light bluish green, leading to the common name of emerald moths, though a few species called thus are also found in the tribe Campaeini of the Ennominae. In 2018, a phylogeny and classification based on a molecular phylogenetic analysis was published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society in which 13 tribes were accepted.
Larentiinae is a subfamily of moths containing roughly 5,800 species that occur mostly in the temperate regions of the world. They are generally considered a subfamily of the geometer moth family (Geometridae) and are divided into a few large or good-sized tribes, and numerous very small or even monotypic ones which might not always be valid. Well-known members are the "pug moths" of the Eupitheciini and the "carpets", mainly of the Cidariini and Xanthorhoini. The subfamily was described by Philogène Auguste Joseph Duponchel in 1845.
The Boarmiini are a large tribe of geometer moths in the Ennominae subfamily.
The Nacophorini are one of the smaller tribes of geometer moths in the subfamily Ennominae. They are the most diverse Ennominae of Australia and are widespread in the Americas. If the African genera tentatively placed herein indeed belong here, the distribution of the Nacophorini is distinctly Gondwanan, with their probable origin either of Australia, South America or even Antarctica. In Eurasia, they are rare by comparison.
Lomographa bimaculata, the white-pinion spotted, is a species of geometer moth. It belongs to the large geometer moth subfamily Ennominae, and therein to the tribe Baptini. It is – under its junior synonym – the type species of its genus Lomographa. It is also the type species of Bapta, a junior objective synonym of Lomographa and the namesake of the Baptini. The species was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius ion 1775.
Betulodes is a genus of moths in tribe Nacophorini of the family Geometridae. Members of the genus occur in South America and in southern North America, where they do not occur north of Mexico.
Drepanogynis is a genus in the geometer moth family (Geometridae). Long considered to hold about 5 dozen species, this number has been doubled after the last major revision. They are stout-bodied and hairy by geometer moth standards, usually have pale hindwings and rest with their wings angled upwards like a roof, as Nacophorini do. The genus is by and large restricted to Africa south of the Equator, with most species occurring in southern Africa.
Sterrhinae is a large subfamily of geometer moths with some 3,000 described species, with more than half belonging to the taxonomically difficult, very diverse genera, Idaea and Scopula. This subfamily was described by Edward Meyrick in 1892. They are the most diverse in the tropics with the number of species decreasing with increasing latitude and elevation.
The external morphology of Lepidoptera is the physiological structure of the bodies of insects belonging to the order Lepidoptera, also known as butterflies and moths. Lepidoptera are distinguished from other orders by the presence of scales on the external parts of the body and appendages, especially the wings. Butterflies and moths vary in size from microlepidoptera only a few millimetres long, to a wingspan of many inches such as the Atlas moth. Comprising over 160,000 described species, the Lepidoptera possess variations of the basic body structure which has evolved to gain advantages in adaptation and distribution.
Phormoestes is a genus of moths in the family choreutidae, containing only one species, Phormoestes palmettovora, which is known from Florida, United States. This genus exhibits distinctive morphology, which sets it apart from other genera within the family, such as Milleria.
