ENY 3005 Family Identification
Lepidoptera: Geometridae
Pronunciation: gee-oh-MET-tri-dee
Common name: geometer moths
Identifying characteristics for the family Geometridae include:
- Slender-bodied moths of small to medium size.
- Front and hind wings with similar pattern and coloration; moths rest on similar
looking substrate with wings outstretched.
- Antennae variable, sometimes feathery.
Additional information:
- Larvae known as inchworms, measuring worms, spanworms and loopers
owing to their characteristic manner ov movement.
-
References:
- Pages 234-235 and plate 10 in D. J. Borror and R. E. White. 1970.
A Field Guide to the Insects. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
- Pages 303-304 in R. G. Bland and H. E. Jaques. 1978.
How to Know the Insects, 3rd ed. Debuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown Co. 409 p.
- Page 344 and plate 10 in C. V. Covell, Jr. 1984.
A Field Guide to the Moths of Eastern North America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. 496 p.
- Pages 645 in D. J. Borror, C. A. Triplehorn, and N. F. Johnson. 1989.
An Introduction to the Study of Insects, 6th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders College Publishing. 875 p.
-
Page yy in H. V. Daly, J. T. Doyen, and A. H. Purcell III. 1998. Introduction
to Insect Biology and Diversity, 2nd ed. Oxford University Press. 680 p.
Links to other Lepidoptera taxa:
Papilionidae,
Pieridae,
Lycaenidae,
Nymphalidae,
Danaidae,
Satyridae,
Hesperiidae,
Sphingidae,
Saturniidae,
Geometridae,
Arctiidae,
Noctuidae,
Sesiidae.
Links to other web sites
Return to ENY 3005 Index to Orders
Prepared by John L. Foltz,
University of Florida, Dept of Entomology & Nematology. Last modified 6 March 2003.