The Boarmiini (also often called ''Cleorini'') are a large

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

geometer moth The geometer moths are moths belonging to the family Geometridae of the insect order Lepidoptera, the moths and butterflies. Their scientific name derives from the Ancient Greek ''geo'' γεω (derivative form of or "the earth"), and ''metr ...

s in the

Ennominae Ennominae is the largest subfamily of the geometer moth family (Geometridae) with some 9,700 described species in 1,100 genera. They are usually a fairly small moths, though some (such as the peppered moth) grow to be considerably large. This sub ...

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Description and systematics

This family is sometimes massively expanded, with the closely related

Bistonini The Bistonini are a tribe of geometer moths in subfamily Ennominae. As numerous ennomine genera have not yet been assigned to a tribe, the genus list is preliminary. In addition, the entire tribe is sometimes merged into a much-expanded Boarmiini ...

, Bupalini, Erannini,

Gnophini Gnophini is a tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested ...

, Melanolophini, Phaseliini and Theriini all merged into it. The eggs of all these geometer moths have the

chorion The chorion is the outermost fetal membrane around the embryo in mammals, birds and reptiles (amniotes). It develops from an outer fold on the surface of the yolk sac, which lies outside the zona pellucida (in mammals), known as the vitelline ...

cells characteristically arranged in longitudinal rows. The eggs of the Boarmiini in the narrow sense usually have a typical slender and narrow shape, with a soft chorion consisting of heavy-walled but unridged

polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed ''polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two toge ...

al cells. However, in ''

Cleora ''Cleora'' is a genus of moths in the family Geometridae. The genus was erected by John Curtis in 1825. Species * '' Cleora alienaria'' (Walker, 1860) * '' Cleora acaciaria'' (Boiduval, 1833) * '' Cleora atriclava'' Prout, 1926 * '' Cleora bicl ...

'' for example, the eggs approach the wide-walled shape found in many Bistonini. Adding further to the uncertainty is the fact that the

Alsophilinae Alsophilinae is a subfamily of the moth family Geometridae The geometer moths are moths belonging to the family Geometridae of the insect order Lepidoptera, the moths and butterflies. Their scientific name derives from the Ancient Greek ''g ...

, usually treated as a small

in their own right, might be a specialized lineage of Boarmiini; though their caterpillars are quite different, their

pupa A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...

e have a peculiar T-shaped cremaster which very much resembles that of the Boarmiini. Boarmiini in the narrow sense are typically slender geometer moths that rest with the wings spread out flatly and do not tuck the hindwings under the forewings while at rest. Typically, they are cryptically colored and rather dark, with brownish-grey hues predominating; in many, there are two or three weak wavy bands extending across the wings and forming a rough semicircle when the moths are at rest. Though they all look quite similar in habitus, there are few unequivocal characters that can be easily used to recognize adult members of this tribe. The females of many

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

have a conspicuously long

ovipositor The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typical ...

for hiding away the typical soft-shelled eggs. The valva and harpe (or "clasper") of the male genitalia are highly complex in almost all species and often bear various extensions. The

juxta In insect anatomy, the juxta is an organ in the males of most Lepidoptera (i.e. moths and butterflies) that supports the aedeagus, the organ used for reproduction in insects. The juxta is located between the two valvae. Juxta has also been ...

is typically well-developed, large and extended. Their

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...

s are rarely plump, and apparently at least some

mimic MIMIC, known in capitalized form only, is a former simulation computer language developed 1964 by H. E. Petersen, F. J. Sansom and L. M. Warshawsky of Systems Engineering Group within the Air Force Materiel Command at the Wright-Patterson AFB in ...

twigs or thin leaves.

Selected genera

As numerous ennominae genera have not yet been unequivocally assigned to a tribe, the genus list is preliminary. In addition, the genera '' Acrodontis'' and '' Xerodes'' (usually placed in

Ennomini __NOTOC__ The Ennomini are a tribe of geometer moths in the Ennominae subfamily. They are large-bodied and rather nondescript Ennominae, overall showing many similarities to the closely related Azelinini and Nacophorini.Young (2008) Most have ...

), as well as '' Monocerotesa'' (usually in

Macariini The Macariini are a tribe of geometer moths in the subfamily Ennominae. Though they share many traits with the Sterrhinae, this is probably plesiomorphic rather than indicative of a close relationship, and DNA sequence data points to the Boarmi ...

) are placed in the Boarmiini by some authors. '' "Boarmia" penthearia'' however appears to belong to the Macariini.Young (2008) The

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

Lithopsyche ''Lithopsyche'' is a fossil butterfly known from Oligocene-aged strata of the Isle of Wight, England. The sole specimen is too incomplete to allow a certain assignment of a family, but it was placed on its description as a geometrid and more re ...

'' was long assigned to the Boarmiini, but more recently a restudy indicated that it is a misidentified true

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

(

Papilionoidea The superfamily Papilionoidea (from the genus '' Papilio'', meaning "butterfly") contains all the butterflies except for the moth-like Hedyloidea. The members of the Papilionoidea may be distinguished by the following combination of character ...

). In 2019, the first geometrid caterpillar in

Baltic amber The Baltic region is home to the largest known deposit of amber, called Baltic amber or succinite. It was produced sometime during the Eocene epoch, but exactly when is controversial. It has been estimated that these forests created more than 1 ...

was discovered by German scientists. Described under ''

Eogeometer vadens ''Eogeometer'' is a prehistoric genus of Ennomine geometer moths in the tribe Boarmiini. The type and only species is ''Eogeometer vadens'', the specimen of which measured about , and was estimated to be 44 million years old, dating back to Eoce ...

'', it measured about , and was estimated to be 44 million years old, dating back to

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...

epoch In chronology and periodization, an epoch or reference epoch is an instant in time chosen as the origin of a particular calendar era. The "epoch" serves as a reference point from which time is measured. The moment of epoch is usually decided by ...

. It was described as the earliest evidence for the subfamily of ''Ennominae'', particularly the tribe of ''Boarmiini''.

References

* (2008)
Family group names in Geometridae
Retrieved 2008-JUL-22. * (1994): ''The Moths of Borneo: Family Geometridae, Subfamily Ennominae.'' London. * (2008)

Version of 2008-MAR-08. Retrieved 2008-JUL-21. * (2008): Characterisation of the Australian Nacophorini using adult morphology, and phylogeny of the Geometridae based on morphological characters. ''

Zootaxa ''Zootaxa'' is a peer-reviewed scientific mega journal for animal taxonomists. It is published by Magnolia Press (Auckland, New Zealand). The journal was established by Zhi-Qiang Zhang in 2001 and new issues are published multiple times a week. ...

'' 1736: 1-141
PDF abstract and excerpt

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4931466