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 

 Noctuidae. 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. 

 The family is here divided into the following subfamilies : — 



Geometrinae ( = Geometridae, Meyrick). 



Acidaliinae ( = Sterrhidas, Meyrick). 



Hydriomeninaa ( = Hydriomenidae, Meyrick). 



Boarmiinae (Selidosemidae, Meyrick). 

 The typical genus of Larentiinae of authors would be 

 Larentia, Treit, to which something over two hundred species 

 have been referred, 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 Hydriojnena, Hiibner, and therefore 

 Hydriomeninae has been adopted for this subfamily. 



