Although they are primarily a group of the tropics, the Geometrinae are represented by a number of striking if sometimes uncommon species in North America. The Hodges checklist names 74 species in the subfamily among Lepidoptera of America North of Mexico. The group includes some moths that exhibit widespread distribution even in suburban habitats, and other species that are known from only a handful of specimens collected at a few very restricted localities. The group is probably best known for the brilliant green color of many of the species. Research into wing pigment chemistry suggests the green coloration may be ascribed to the presence of single pigment, geoverdin (†see reference below).

These pages provide a species list of North American Geometrinae with further links to identifying characteristics and other information for selected species. Additionally, some broader issues are explored here that are interesting aspects of Geometrine evolution and ecology, including immature stages, parasitism of larvae, seasonal polyphenism in adult moths, and plasticity and alternative phenotypes in the larval stages.

The subfamily Geometrinae enjoys an informative and detailed treatment in the work of the late Douglas Ferguson, whose fascicle in the Moths of America North of Mexico (MONA) series revised and added to his 1967 doctoral dissertation from Cornell University, published in revised form as a Bulletin of the Peabody Museum. Both publications are referenced below and both are available in print for interested researchers.

Ferguson, D.C. (1985) Fascicle 18.1 Geometroidea: Geometridae of Moths of America North of Mexico. The Wedge Entomological Research Foundation.Washington.

Ferguson, D.C. (1969) A Revision of the Moths of the Subfamily Geometrinae of America North of Mexico (Insecta, Lepidoptera).Peabody Museum of Natural History Bulletin 29. Yale University, New Haven, CT.

†Geoverdin pigment in wings of Geometrinae:
Cook, M.A., Harwood, L.M., Scoble, M.J. & McGavin, G.C. 1993. "The chemistry and systematic importance of the green wing-pigment in Emerald Moths (Lepidoptera: Geometridae, Geometrinae)." Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 22: 43-51.