Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Any of various moths of the family Geometridae, having caterpillars commonly known as measuring worms that move by looping the body in alternate contractions and expansions.
- adj. Of or belonging to the Geometridae.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- In entomology, pertaining to the moths of the section Geometrina, whose larvæ are measuring-worms.
- n. A moth of the family Geometridœ or section Geometrina, or its larva; a measuring-worm.
Wiktionary
- n. zoology Any of the various moths of the family Geometridae.
- n. A larva of such moth, which when walking alternate legs and prolegs, giving the appearance of measuring.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. (Zoöl.) Pertaining or belonging to the
Geometridæ . - n. (Zoöl.) One of numerous genera and species of moths, of the family
Geometridæ ; -- so called because their larvæ (called loopers, measuring worms, spanworms, and inchworms) creep in a looping manner, as if measuring. Many of the species are injurious to agriculture, as the cankerworms.
WordNet 3.0
- n. slender-bodied broad-winged moth whose larvae are called measuring worms
Etymologies
- From New Latin Geōmetridae, family name, from Latin geōmetrēs, geometrician, land-measurer, from Greek, from geōmetrein, to measure land; see geometry. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Among northern insects, population cycles are best known in geometrid moths, particularly the autumnal moth (Epirrita autumnata), which exhibits massive population outbreaks with approximately 10-year intervals that extend into the forest tundra [99].”
“The projected increase in the frequency of winter warming is very likely to severely suppress population densities; distort the cyclic dynamics and degree of geographic synchrony in lemmings, voles, and geometrid moths; and in some cases even lead to population extinctions.”
Phenotypic responses of arctic species to changes in climate and ultraviolet-B radiation
“The natural cyclic fluctuation of geometrid moth numbers is driven by density-dependent factors that lag outbreaks in time, including buildup of natural enemies, disease, and reduced food quality, and by weather conditions at all life stages.”
Climate change and insects as a forest disturbance in the Arctic
“Warmer summer temperatures with no change in winter temperatures are likely to reduce the geometrid moth outbreak potential, because higher densities of moth predators associated with warm summers would partially protect birch, while the winter limitation on the moths would still operate.”
Climate change and insects as a forest disturbance in the Arctic
“High larval predation rate in non-outbreaking populations of a geometrid moth.”
“However, the border between outbreaking and non-outbreaking populations of geometrid moths is likely to move northward if climate changes.”
“Over 30 geometrid moths of the genus Chrysolarentia are found only in alpine areas, demonstrating rapid speciation over a small geographical area.”
“… An interesting account of the formation of local forms … has been given by J.W. H. Harrison 1920 for local races of the geometrid moth Oporabia autumnata.”
Welcome Article on Natural Selection in Peppered Moths - The Panda's Thumb
“Looper: applied to geometrid and other caterpillars in which some or all the middle abdominal legs are wanting and which move by bringing tail to thorax and forming a loop of the intervening segments.”
“The same kind of inquiry, though on far less complete data, was extended by the present writer [229] in 1873 to the moths, careful measurements of twenty-five species of geometrid moths common to the Atlantic and”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘geometrid’.
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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be-tween the wings
monoplane, wheatear, synallaxine, fritillary, nightjar, morning-a-jar, evening-jarred, fieldfare, centre, accipiter, motmot, geometrid and 43 more...
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It's a Lepidopteran
Names of butterflies and moths that I find interesting, and terms associated with citizens of Lepidoptera.
Here are elfins, satyrs and wood-nymphs ruled by some sovereign such as an em...clearwing, whitespot, miller, underwing, lettuce-shark, owlet, gamma, fanfoot, mason moth, mought, goldtail, noctuid and 132 more...
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Adjectival Arcana
A roster of adjectives that infrequently surface in typical conversation and writing. Many are dredged from scientific or other technical jargon or sieved from examples of disused archaic forms.
unitegmic, acaulescent, reticuloendothelial, ingressive, uniate, acanthopterygian, ossific, epiphysial, perivisceral, acœlomatous, cestoid, acælomate and 7756 more...
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technomom's Words
misology, sacerdotal, omphaloskepsis, jimjams, incunabulum, repose, trecento, chimera, tridecennary, tenebrous, purblind, floruit and 207 more...
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Speak, Memory
Words gathered while reading Speak, Memory by Vladimir Nabokov.
cracknel, shingly, glaucous, stretcherman, goodish, loden, gutticle, percha, plasticine, instar, wellhole, camera-lucida and 357 more...
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The word collector
My collection of words that are intriguing, but don't fit my other lists.
snailery, aplasia, postulant, aigrette, caravel, frigate, capeskin, suffusion, schist, varlet, sepulchral, anisotropy and 317 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for geometrid.
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