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. A very large family, it has around 23,000 species of moths described, and over 1400 species from six subfamilies indigenous to North America alone. A well-known member is the peppered moth, Biston betularia, which has been subject of numerous studies in population genetics. Several other geometer moths are notorious pests.
Idaea, sometimes called Hyriogona, is a large genus of geometer moths. It was erected by Georg Friedrich Treitschke in 1825. They are found nearly worldwide, with many native to the Mediterranean, the African savannas, and the deserts of western Asia.
Cyclophora albipunctata, the birch mocha, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1767. It is found in the Palearctic. The southern boundary runs westward along the French Atlantic coast and to the British Isles and north of the Alps. In the east, the species ranges to the Pacific Ocean. South of the northern Alps line, it is found at some high elevation areas and mountains. In the Pyrenees, the Massif Central, the southern Alps, the northern Dinaric Alps, in the western and northern Carpathians, in northern Turkey and the Caucasus. In the north, the range extends up to the Arctic Circle. In the Far East the nominate subspecies is replaced by Cyclophora albipunctata griseolataStaudinger, 1897.
Cyclophora punctaria, the maiden's blush, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. The species is mainly prevalent in Central and Eastern Europe. In the north, its distribution extends to southern Fennoscandia and the British Isles, in the west via France to parts of northern Spain, in the south via Italy, the Balkan Peninsula to Asia Minor. The eastern border of the distribution is roughly the Ural. In the Caucasus area, the nominate subspecies is replaced by the subspecies C. punctaria fritzae. The range of this subspecies extends as far as Iran.Cyclophora punctaria is found mainly in wooded areas with oak scrub and oak forests. In Central Europe it rises up to 700 metres in the hills, rarely up to 1,200 metres in the Alps, and regularly rises to 1,300 metres in southern Europe.
Cyclophora linearia, the clay triple-lines, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1799 and it can be found in Europe and Britain.
Cyclophora ruficiliaria, the Jersey mocha, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Gottlieb August Wilhelm Herrich-Schäffer in 1855. It can be found in Europe, in particular the Channel Islands as well as other parts of the mainland United Kingdom.
Cyclophora annularia, the mocha, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1775 and it can be found in Europe.
Cyclophora is a genus of moths in the family Geometridae. Many species are referred to as mochas in reference to their colouration, primarily in Europe.
Scopula rubiginata, the tawny wave, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1767.
Scopula junctaria, the simple wave, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Francis Walker in 1861. It is found in the whole of Canada and the northern United States, south to Maryland, Arizona, and California.
Cyclophora obstataria is a moth of the family Geometridae first described by Francis Walker in 1861. It is known from the Indian subregion, Sri Lanka and China to Sundaland, New Guinea and Queensland in Australia.
Idaea tacturata, the dot-lined wave moth, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Francis Walker in 1861. It is found in the US from Virginia to Florida, west to south-eastern coastal Texas.
Eois grataria is a moth in the family Geometridae. It is found in the Indian subregion, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Sundaland and on Christmas Island.
Cyclophora lennigiaria is a moth in the family Geometridae. It is found in south-western Europe, north to southern France and western Germany, as well as in Morocco.
Cyclophora packardi, Packard's wave moth or Packard's wave, is a moth in the family Geometridae. It is found in North America, from Maine to Florida, west to Texas and north to Iowa and Ohio.
Cyclophora pendulinaria, the sweetfern geometer moth or pearly-grey wave, is a moth in the family Geometridae. It is found in North America, where it is found from Newfoundland and Labrador west to the Yukon and coastal British Columbia, south to Georgia in the east. The habitat consists of moist or mesic forests.
Cyclophora leonaria is a moth in the family Geometridae. It is found in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and on São Tomé.
