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 blood-vein is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Anton Schmidt in 1931.
The latticed heath is a moth of the family Geometridae, belonging to the subfamily Ennominae, placed in the tribe Macariini. The genus was erected by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.
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 Cidariini are the largest tribe of geometer moths in the subfamily Larentiinae. The Cidariini include many of the species known as "carpets" or, ambiguously, "carpet moths", and are among the few geometer moths that have been subject to fairly comprehensive cladistic study of their phylogeny. The tribe was described by Philogène Auguste Joseph Duponchel in 1845.
Scopula immutata, the lesser cream wave, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It was described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. It is found throughout Europe.
Dyspteris is a genus of moths in the family Geometridae and was erected by Jacob Hübner in 1818. It is monotypic, being represented by a single species, Dyspteris abortivaria, commonly known as the bad-wing. This species was first described by Gottlieb August Wilhelm Herrich-Schäffer in 1855 and is found in North America.
Erateina is a genus of moths in the family Geometridae erected by Edward Doubleday in 1848.
Lythria is a genus of moths in the family Geometridae erected by Jacob Hübner in 1823. It is the only genus of the monotypic tribe Lythriini described by Claude Herbulot in 1962.
Plagodis is a genus of moths in the family Geometridae erected by Jacob Hübner in 1825.
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.
Eulithis testata, the chevron, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1761. It is found in both the Palearctic and the Nearctic realms. In the Palearctic it ranges from Great Britain and Scandinavia, south to the Alps, east through Russia and the Russian Far East to Japan. In North America, it is found from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island and Alaska, south in the east to about New Jersey and in the west to Colorado.
Asthenini is a tribe of geometer moths under subfamily Larentiinae first described by Warren in 1893. The tribe has been combined with Eupitheciini in the past, most notably by Jeremy Daniel Holloway in his work The Moths of Borneo.
Earophila badiata, the shoulder stripe, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775. It is found from most of Europe and North Africa to the Altai Mountains in the east Palearctic.
Scopula incanata is a species of moth in the family Geometridae. It is found from north-eastern Europe and the Caucasus to southern Siberia and northern Mongolia.
Scopula origalis is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found in Iran (Laristan).
Scopula corrivalaria is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found from Japan, Korea, China and the Russian Far East through Siberia and Russia to western Europe. In Europe, it ranges from northern Central Europe to the Mediterranean. The habitat consists of marshes and wet meadows.
Scopula cumulata is a moth of the family Geometridae. It was described by Sergei Alphéraky in 1883. It is found in China and Kyrghyzstan.
Scopula rhodocraspeda is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found in Madagascar.
