Inchworms and Geometer Moths

Family Geometridae

Chickweed geometer (Haematopis grataria). Photo:Stephanie Boucher

The geometers are often found on the borders of woods and in forests, they are mostly active at night and are often attracted to lights. The larvae eat a variety of plants. Small to medium sized slender moths. They have broad wings often marked with fine wavy lines. The two sexes often differ in colour, and in a few species the females are wingless or have underdeveloped wings. The larvae of geometers are called inchworms or measuring worms and they have two or three pairs of prolegs at the posterior end but none in the middle. They move by bringing their back end forward which makes a loop in their body, then they move their front end forward to straighten their body.