Geometer moth

Family of insects

"Inchworm" redirects here. For other uses, see Inchworm (disambiguation).

"Geometridae" redirects here. For the mollusc family, see Geomitridae.

Geometer moth

Temporal range: Priabonian to Recent 35–0 Ma

PreꞒ

Chiasmia species from Ennominae
Scientific classification
Domain:  | Eukaryota
Kingdom:  | Animalia
Phylum:  | Arthropoda
Class:  | Insecta
Order:  | Lepidoptera
Superfamily:  | Geometroidea
Family:  | Geometridae
Leach, 1815
Subfamilies

* Alsophilinae (disputed)
* Archiearinae
* Desmobathrinae (disputed)
* Ennominae
* Geometrinae
* Larentiinae (but see text)
* Oenochrominae
* Orthostixinae
* Sterrhinae

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 (derivative form of γῆ or γαῖα "the earth"), 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.[1] Geometridae is a very large family, containing around 23,000 described species;[2][3] over 1400 species from six subfamilies are indigenous to North America alone.[1] 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.

## Caterpillars

[edit]

The name "Geometridae" ultimately derives from Latin geometra from Greek γεωμέτρης ("geometer", "earth-measurer"). This refers to the means of locomotion of the larvae or caterpillars, which lack the full complement of prolegs seen in other caterpillars, with only two or three pairs at the posterior end instead of the usual five pairs. Equipped with appendages at both ends of the body, a caterpillar clasps with its front legs and draws up the hind end, then clasps with the hind end (prolegs) and reaches out for a new front attachment, creating the impression that it measures its journey. The caterpillars are accordingly called "loopers", "spanworms", or "inchworms" after their characteristic looping gait. The cabbage looper and soybean looper are not inchworms but caterpillars of a different family. In many species of geometer moths, the inchworms are about 25 mm (1.0 in) long. They tend to be green, grey, or brownish and hide from predators by fading into the background or resembling twigs. When disturbed, many inchworms stand erect and motionless on their prolegs, further increasing this resemblance. Some have humps or filaments, or cover themselves in plant material. They are gregarious and are generally smooth. Some eat lichen, flowers, or pollen, while some, such as the Hawaiian species of the genus Eupithecia, are carnivorous. Certain destructive inchworm species are referred to as "cankerworms".[4]

In 2019, the first geometrid caterpillar in Baltic amber was discovered by German scientists. Described under Eogeometer vadens, it measured about 5 mm (0.20 in) and was estimated to be 44 million years old, dating back to the Eocene epoch. It was described as the earliest evidence for the subfamily of Ennominae, particularly the tribe Boarmiini.[5]

* Locomotion of a looper

* A geometrid caterpillar camouflaged as a broken twig

* Caterpillar locomotion

* Synchlora aerata caterpillar dressed with pieces of flowers as camouflage

* Geometrid moth (Geometridae) "inchworm" caterpillar

* Geometrid moth (Geometridae) "inchworm" caterpillar

## Adults

[edit]

Many geometrids have slender abdomens and broad wings which are usually held flat with the hindwings visible. As such, they appear rather butterfly-like, but in most respects they are typical moths. The majority fly at night. They possess a frenulum to link the wings, and the antennae of the males are often feathered. They tend to blend into the background, often with intricate, wavy patterns on their wings. In some species, females have reduced wings (e.g. winter moth and fall cankerworm).[1] Most are of moderate size, about 3 cm (1.2 in) in wingspan, but a range of sizes occur, from 10–50 mm (0.39–1.97 in), and a few (e.g., Dysphania species) reach an even larger size. They have distinctive paired tympanal organs at the base of the abdomen (these are absent in flightless females).[citation needed]

* Selenia tetralunaria species from Ennominae

* Scopula species

* Tetracis cachexiata in the US state of Ohio

* Alsophila pometaria, wingless adult female

## Systematics

[edit]

Main article: List of geometrid genera

The placement of the example species follows a 1990 systematic treatment; it may be outdated. Subfamilies are tentatively sorted in a phylogenetic sequence, from the most basal to the most advanced. Traditionally, the Archiearinae were held to be the most ancient of the geometer moth lineages, as their caterpillars have well-developed prolegs. However, it now seems that the Larentiinae are actually older, as indicated by their numerous plesiomorphies and DNA sequence data. They are either an extremely basal lineage of the Geometridae - together with the Sterrhinae - or might even be considered a separate family of Geometroidea. As regards the Archiearinae, some species that were traditionally placed therein actually seem to belong to other subfamilies; altogether it seems that in a few cases, the prolegs which were originally lost in the ancestral geometer moths re-evolved as an atavism.[6][7]

Larentiinae – about 5,800 species, includes the pug moths, mostly temperate, might be a distinct family.[6][7]

Sterrhinae – about 2,800 species, mostly tropical, might belong to same family as the Larentiinae.[6]

* Birch mocha, Cyclophora albipunctata
* False mocha, Cyclophora porata
* Maiden's blush, Cyclophora punctaria
* Riband wave, Idaea aversata
* Small fan-footed wave, Idaea biselata
* Single-dotted wave, Idaea dimidiata
* Small scallop, Idaea emarginata
* Idaea filicata
* Dwarf cream wave, Idaea fuscovenosa
* Rusty wave, Idaea inquinata
* Purple-bordered gold, Idaea muricata
* Bright wave, Idaea ochrata
* Least carpet, Idaea rusticata
* Small dusty wave, Idaea seriata
* Purple-barred yellow, Lythria cruentaria (formerly in Larentiinae)
* Vestal, Rhodometra sacraria
* Common pink-barred, Rhodostrophia vibicaria
* Middle lace border, Scopula decorata
* Cream wave, Scopula floslactata
* Small blood-vein, Scopula imitaria
* Lewes wave, Scopula immorata
* Lesser cream wave, Scopula immutata
* Mullein wave, Scopula marginepunctata
* Zachera moth, Chiasmia defixaria
* Blood-vein, Timandra comae
* Eastern blood-vein, Timandra griseata

Desmobathrinae – pantropical

Geometrinae – emerald moths, about 2,300 named species, most tropical

Archiearinae – twelve[8] species; holarctic, southern Andes and Tasmania, though the latter some seem to belong to the Ennominae,[7] larvae have all the prolegs but most are reduced.

* Infant, Archiearis infans (Möschler, 1862)
* Scarce infant, Leucobrephos brephoides (Walker, 1857)

Oenochrominae – in some treatments used as a "wastebin taxon" for genera that are difficult to place in other groups

Alsophilinae – a few genera, defoliators of trees, might belong in the Ennominae, tribe Boarmiini[7]

* March moth, Alsophila aescularia
* Fall cankerworm, Alsophila pometaria

Ennominae – about 9,700 species, including some defoliating pests, global distribution

* †Eogeometer vadens[5]

Geometridae genera incertae sedis include:

* Dichromodes
* Homoeoctenia
* Nearcha

Hydriomena? protrita holotype forewing

Fossil Geometridae taxa include:

* †Eogeometer Fischer, Michalski & Hausmann, 2019[5]
* †Hydriomena? protrita Cockerell, 1922 (Priabonian, Florissant Formation, Colorado)[9]
* †Geometridites Clark et al., 1971

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Robin McLeod, John; Balaban, Jane; Moisset, Beatriz; Entz, Chuck (April 27, 2009). "Family Geometridae - Geometrid Moths". BugGuide. Retrieved April 2, 2011.
2. ^ "Lepidoptera Barcode of Life". Archived from the original on 2017-07-12. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
3. ^ Scoble, M. J. (1999), Geometrid Moths of the World: A Catalogue (Lepidoptera, Geometridae) (in German), vol. 1 and 2, Stenstrup: CSIRO Publishing and Apollo Books, p. 1016
4. ^ Frank, Steven D. (1 December 2014). "Bad neighbors: urban habitats increase cankerworm damage to non-host understory plants". Urban Ecosystems. 17 (4): 1135–1145. doi:10.1007/s11252-014-0368-x. ISSN 1573-1642.
5. ^ a b c Fischer, Thilo C.; Michalski, Artur; Hausmann, Axel (2019). "Geometrid caterpillar in Eocene Baltic amber (Lepidoptera, Geometridae)". Scientific Reports. 9 (1): Article number 17201. Bibcode:2019NatSR...917201F. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-53734-w. PMC 6868187. PMID 31748672.
6. ^ a b c Õunap, Erki; Viidalepp, Jaan; Saarma, Urmas (2008). "Systematic position of Lythriini revised: transferred from Larentiinae to Sterrhinae (Lepidoptera, Geometridae)". Zoologica Scripta. 37 (4): 405–413. doi:10.1111/j.1463-6409.2008.00327.x. S2CID 85800529.
7. ^ a b c d Young, Catherine J. (2008). "Characterisation of the Australian Nacophorini using adult morphology, and phylogeny of the Geometridae based on morphological characters" (PDF). Zootaxa. 1736: 1–141. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1736.1.1.
8. ^ "Hemitheini Bruand 1846 - Plazi TreatmentBank". treatment.plazi.org. Retrieved 2024-02-04.
9. ^ Cockerell, T. D. A. (1922). "A fossil Moth from Florissant, Colorado". American Museum Novitates (34): 1–2.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Hausmann, A. (2001). The Geometrid Moths of Europe. Vol. 1: Introduction. Archiearinae, Orthostixinae, Desmobathrinae, Alsophilinae, Geometrinae -- v. 4. Larentiinae II (Perizomini and Eupitheciini). Apollo Books.
* Minet, J.; Scoble, M. J. (1999). "17: The Drepanoid / Geometroid Assemblage". In Kristensen, N. P. (ed.). Handbuch der Zoologie. Eine Naturgeschichte der Stämme des Tierreiches / Handbook of Zoology. A Natural History of the phyla of the Animal Kingdom. Vol. 4: Arthropoda: Insecta. Part 35: Lepidoptera, Moths and Butterflies. Vol. 1: Evolution, Systematics, and Biogeography. Berlin & New York: Walter de Gruyter.
* Scoble, M. J., ed. (1999), Geometrid Moths of the World: A Catalogue, CSIRO Publishing, ISBN 0-643-06304-8

## External links

[edit]

* "Family Geometridae" at Insecta.pro
* Anacamptodes pergracilis, cypress looper on the University of Florida / Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Featured Creatures website
* Geometridae species in New Zealand Archived 2015-11-07 at the Wayback Machine
* Geometridae species in Portugal

* v
* t
* e

Extant Lepidoptera families

* Kingdom: Animalia
* Phylum: Arthropoda
* Class: Insecta
* Subclass: Pterygota
* Infraclass: Neoptera
* Superorder: Holometabola

Suborder Zeugloptera

| Micropterigoidea|

Micropterigidae (mandibulate archaic moths)

|

Suborder Aglossata

| Agathiphagoidea|

Agathiphagidae (kauri moths)

|

Suborder Heterobathmiina

| Heterobathmioidea|

Heterobathmiidae

|

Suborder Glossata

| Dacnonypha|

| Eriocranioidea|

* Eriocraniidae

|

Acanthoctesia|

| Acanthopteroctetoidea|

* Acanthopteroctetidae (archaic sun moths)

|

Lophocoronina|

| Lophocoronoidea|

Lophocoronidae

|

Neopseustina|

| Neopseustoidea|

* Aenigmatineidae
* Neopseustidae (archaic bell moths)

|

Exoporia|

| Hepialoidea|

* Anomosetidae
* Hepialidae (swift moths, ghost moths)
* Neotheoridae (Amazonian primitive ghost moths)
* Palaeosetidae (miniature ghost moths)
* Prototheoridae (African primitive ghost moths)

|

Mnesarchaeoidea|

* Mnesarchaeidae (New Zealand primitive moths)

| M

| Adeloidea|

Adelidae (fairy longhorn moths)
Cecidosidae
Heliozelidae
Incurvariidae
Prodoxidae (yucca moths)

|

Andesianoidea|

* Andesianidae (Andean endemic moths)

Nepticuloidea|

Nepticulidae (pigmy, or midget moths)
Opostegidae (white eyecap moths)

Palaephatoidea|

Palaephatidae (Gondwanaland moths)

Tischerioidea|

Tischeriidae (trumpet leaf miner moths)

| Simaethistoidea|

Simaethistidae

|

Tineoidea|

Acrolophidae (burrowing webworm moths)
Arrhenophanidae
Eriocottidae (Old World spiny-winged moths)
Psychidae (bagworm moths)
Tineidae (fungus moths)

Gracillarioidea|

Bucculatricidae (ribbed cocoon makers)
Douglasiidae (Douglas moths)
Gracillariidae
Roeslerstammiidae

Yponomeutoidea|

Acrolepiidae (false diamondback moths)
Bedelliidae
Glyphipterigidae (sedge moths)
Heliodinidae
Lyonetiidae
Plutellidae
Yponomeutidae (ermine moths)
Ypsolophidae

Gelechioidea|

Autostichidae
Batrachedridae
Blastobasidae
Coleophoridae (case-bearers, case moths)
Cosmopterigidae (cosmet moths)
Elachistidae (grass-miner moths)
Gelechiidae (twirler moths)
Lecithoceridae (long-horned moths)
Lypusidae
Metachandidae
Momphidae (mompha moths)
Oecophoridae (concealer moths)
Pterolonchidae
Scythrididae (flower moths)
Xyloryctidae (timber moths)

Galacticoidea|

Galacticidae

Zygaenoidea|

Heterogynidae
Zygaenidae (burnet, forester, or smoky moths)
Himantopteridae
Lacturidae
Somabrachyidae
Megalopygidae (flannel moths)
Aididae
Anomoeotidae
Cyclotornidae
Epipyropidae (planthopper parasite moths)
Dalceridae (slug caterpillars)
Limacodidae (slug, or cup moths)

Cossoidea|

Cossidae (carpenter millers, or goat moths)
Dudgeoneidae (dudgeon carpenter moths)

Sesioidea|

Brachodidae (little bear moths)
Castniidae (castniid moths: giant butterfly-moths, sun moths)
Sesiidae (clearwing moths)

Choreutoidea|

Choreutidae (metalmark moths)

Tortricoidea|

Tortricidae (tortrix moths)

Urodoidea|

Urodidae (false burnet moths)

Schreckensteinioidea|

Schreckensteiniidae (bristle-legged moths)

Epermenioidea|

Epermeniidae (fringe-tufted moths)

Alucitoidea|

Alucitidae (many-plumed moths)
Tineodidae (false plume moths)

Pterophoroidea|

Pterophoridae (plume moths)

Whalleyanoidea|

Whalleyanidae

Immoidea|

Immidae

Copromorphoidea|

Copromorphidae (tropical fruitworm moths)
Carposinidae (fruitworm moths)

Thyridoidea|

Thyrididae (picture-winged leaf moths)

Calliduloidea|

Callidulidae (Old World butterfly-moths)

Papilionoidea
(butterflies)|

Papilionidae (swallowtail butterflies)
Hedylidae (American moth-butterflies)
Hesperiidae (skippers)
Pieridae (whites, yellows, orangetips, sulphurs)
Riodinidae (metalmarks)
Lycaenidae (gossamer-winged butterflies: blues, coppers and relatives)
Nymphalidae (brush-footed, or four-footed butterflies)

Hyblaeoidea|

Hyblaeidae (teak moths)

Pyraloidea|

Pyralidae (snout moths)
Crambidae (grass moth)

Mimallonoidea|

Mimallonidae (sack bearer moths)

Lasiocampoidea|

Lasiocampidae (eggars, snout moths, or lappet moths)

Bombycoidea|

Anthelidae (Australian lappet moth)
Apatelodidae (American silkworm moths)
Bombycidae (silk moths)
Brahmaeidae (Brahmin moths)
Carthaeidae (Dryandra moth)
Endromidae (Kentish glory and relatives)
Eupterotidae
Phiditiidae
Saturniidae (saturniids)
Sphingidae (hawk moths, sphinx moths and hornworms)

Noctuoidea|

Erebidae (underwing, tiger, tussock, litter, snout, owlet moths)
Euteliidae
Noctuidae (daggers, sallows, owlet moths, quakers, cutworms, darts)
Nolidae (tuft moths)
Notodontidae (prominents, kittens)
Oenosandridae

Drepanoidea|

Drepanidae (hook-tips)
Cimeliidae (gold moths)
Doidae

Geometroidea|

Sematuridae
Pseudobistonidae
Epicopeiidae (oriental swallowtail moths)
Uraniidae
Geometridae (geometer moths)

Superfamily unassigned|

Millieriidae

Note: division Monotrysia is not a clade.

* Taxonomy of the Lepidoptera
* Lists by region

Taxon identifiers

Geometridae|

* Wikidata: Q45559
* Wikispecies: Geometridae
* ADW: Geometridae
* AFD: Geometridae
* BAMONA: Geometridae
* BioLib: 17266
* BOLD: 525
* BugGuide: 188
* CoL: 6247J
* EoL: 827
* EPPO: 1GEOMF
* Fauna Europaea: 7520
* Fauna Europaea (new): 1c997d6a-0ff8-45d0-9957-d3991884ba21
* GBIF: 6950
* iNaturalist: 49530
* IRMNG: 100263
* ITIS: 117556
* NBN: NBNSYS0000160054
* NCBI: 82593
* NZOR: 14c19fdc-3743-46e4-9622-5483173773e4
* Open Tree of Life: 968124
* Paleobiology Database: 136330
* PPE: geometridae
* uBio: 414772
* WoRMS: 989029

Authority control databases: National |

* Germany
* United States
* Czech Republic
* Israel

|

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template