lOO THE MOTHS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



" geometers " or " loopers," but to our American confreres they 

 are known as " measuring-worms " or " span-worms." 



Most of the caterpillars feed openly on the foliage of trees, 

 shrubs, or low-growing herbs, and the majority remain upon 

 their respective plants during the day. 



A large proportion of the moths may be obtained in the day- 

 time, either by beating or otherwise disturbing the foliage or 

 herbage among which they hide ; several kinds rest on tree 

 trunks, palings, rocks, walls, etc., where they are sometimes 

 conspicuous, but more frequently not easy to distinguish from 

 their surroundings. On the whole, members of this family are 

 more available to the day collector than are those of the 

 Noctuidas. Although several species occasionally visit the 

 sugar patch, such species are, as a rule, obtained more readily 

 and in larger numbers by other methods. Brilliant light has 

 a great attraction for many of the moths, some are more often 

 captured at gas or electric lamps than in any other way, and 

 among these are the migratory species. 



Staudinger divides the family into the following subfamilies : — 

 (qI ^ I 0'^ Geometrinae (= Geometridae, Meyrick). 

 /;Ci.i. i U Acidaliinae (= Sterrhidas, Meyrick). 

 . / 2-6'^' Larentiinae (= Hydriomenidas, Meyrick). 



2_ - Orthostixinse (not represented in Britain). 



. ^332 Boarmiinas (Selidosemidae, Meyrick). 

 ^ ' Except as regards the Larentiinae, I have largely adhered to 

 Staudinger's arrangement of genera in each of the above sub- 

 families. 



The typical genus of Larentiinae would be Lareniia^ Treit, 

 to which something over two hundred species are referred by 

 Staudinger, among which are upwards of sixty that occur in the 

 British Isles. Following some of the later generic changes, I 

 find that none of our species are left in Larentia, but a few fall 

 into Hydrioineiia, Hiibner, and therefore Hydriomenince has 

 been adopted for this subfamily. 



