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 emerald is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species is found throughout the Nearctic and Palearctic regions and the Near East. It is mostly commonly found in the southern half of the Ireland and Britain. It was accidentally introduced into southern British Columbia in 1973.
The riband wave is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.
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.
Larentia clavaria, the mallow, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Adrian Hardy Haworth in 1809. It is found from Siberia in the east to the Iberian Peninsula, North Africa, and the British Isles in the west. In the north it ranges to the Caucasus, Tajikistan and Fennoscandia. In the south it is found the western Mediterranean islands, Italy, the Balkans and Asia Minor. It occurs only locally and is almost always rare. In the Alps, it rises up to 1200 m above sea level.
Sigilliclystis insigillata is a species of moth of the family Geometridae. It is found in Australia, including Tasmania. This species has also been introduced to New Zealand.
Hypobapta diffundens, the diffundens grey, is a moth of the family Geometridae first described by Thomas Pennington Lucas in 1891. It is found in the Australian state of Queensland.
Cleorodes is a monotypic moth genus in the family Geometridae described by Warren in 1894. Its single species, Cleorodes lichenaria, the Brussels lace, was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1767.
Hypobapta is a genus of moths in the family Geometridae described by Prout in 1912.
Melanodes is a monotypic moth genus in the family Geometridae. Its only species, Melanodes anthracitaria, the black geometrid, is found in Australia, more specifically in southern Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania. The genus and species were described by Achille Guenée in 1857.
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.
Scopulini is a tribe of the geometer moth family (Geometridae), with about 900 species in seven genera. The tribe was described by Philogène Auguste Joseph Duponchel in 1845.
Herochroma curvata is a species of moth of the family Geometridae. It was first described by Han Hongxiang and Xue Dayong in 2003. It is known from Hainan and Guangxi, South China.
Herochroma pallensia is a species of moth of the family Geometridae. It was first described by Han Hongxiang and Xue Dayong in 2003. It is found in the Chinese provinces of Hunan, Fujian, and Guangxi.
Herochroma rosulata is a species of moth of the family Geometridae. It was first described by Han Hongxiang and Xue Dayong in 2003. It is found in Hainan, China.
Herochroma perspicillata is a species of moth of the family Geometridae. It was first described by Han Hongxiang and Xue Dayong in 2003. It is found in Yunnan, China.
Lampropteryx suffumata, the water carpet, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found from Europe to the Altai Mountains, Khabarovsk Krai and the Kamchatka Peninsula in the far east of Russia, and Hokkaido, Japan. In 2000, the species was discovered in Alaska, USA, and then in 2008 DNA-barcoding analysis of museum specimens identified several Canadian specimens, thereby extending the geographical range from Ireland in the west, across Eurasia, to the west of North America. The habitat consists of damp woodland, grassy areas, chalk downland and scrubland.
Hypobapta percomptaria, the southern grey, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It was first described by Achille Guenée in 1857. It is known from Australia. The study by Hausmann and colleagues (2009) restrict it to Tasmania; earlier records from the Australian mainland represent Hypobapta tachyhalotaria.
The Pseudoterpnini are a tribe of geometer moths in the subfamily Geometrinae. The tribe was described by Warren in 1893. It was alternatively treated as subtribe Pseudoterpniti by Jeremy Daniel Holloway in 1996.
Hypobapta xenomorpha is a moth of the family Geometridae first described by Oswald Bertram Lower in 1915. It is found in Australia.
