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 γη or γαια "the earth" and metron μέτρων "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.
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. A phylogeny and classification was published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society in which 13 tribes were accepted.
Scopula decorata, the middle lace border, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found throughout Europe.
Scopula immorata, the Lewes wave, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found throughout Europe and the Near East.
Lipomelia is a monotypic moth genus in the family Geometridae. It contains only one species, Lipomelia subusta, which is found in India and Taiwan. Both the genus and species were first described by William Warren in 1893.
Somatina is a genus of moths in the family Geometridae first described by Achille Guenée in 1858.
Sterrhinae is a large subfamily of geometer moths with some 2,800 described species. This subfamily was described by Edward Meyrick in 1892.
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.
Louis Beethoven Prout (1864–1943) was an English entomologist and musicologist.
Scopula accentuata is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya and South Africa.
Scopula subpunctaria is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found from northern and north-eastern China to the southern Palaearctic ecozone.
Scopula prouti is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found from north-eastern China to Korea, Japan and south-eastern Russia.
Scopula bigeminata is a moth of the family Geometridae. It was described by Warren in 1897. It is found in Angola, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Sudan and Uganda.
Scopula cajanderi is a moth of the family Geometridae. It has a Holarctic, distribution, which includes Russia, Alaska and Yukon.
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 elegans is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found in Malawi, Nigeria and Uganda.
Scopula ludibunda is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found in Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Scopula modicaria is a moth of the family Geometridae. It was described by Leech in 1897. It is found in China, the Russian Far East, Korea and Japan.
Scopula pratana is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found in North Africa, the Canary Islands, the Near East and Yemen.
Scopula sublobata is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found in Malawi and South Africa.
