Geometridae: Geometer Moths of Hawai'i III

Geometridae is a very large family of moths (Order:Lepidoptera) consisting of 35,000 described species. The name is derived from the latin word 'geometra' which means 'earth-measurer', referring to the movement of the caterpillar larvae.  Although they are strikingly butterfly-like in appearance, they are in fact moths.  Male antennae are feathered, most of them fly at night and they have a frenulum linking the wings.  One of the more popular and endemic Hawaiian geometrids is Eupithecia sp. Species within this genus are carnivorous predators only in Hawaii, feeding on insects instead of plant matter like their non-native counterparts. These sit-and-wait predators have raptorial claws structured for holding their prey, and appendages on their abdomens for trigger response. Another endemic, but invasive species is the Koa moth (Scotorythra paludicola).  Historic outbreaks and population explosions have resulted in mass defoliation of mature Koa trees. Please do your part and help transcribe geometrid specimens from our insect museum.  This expedition of 596 tasks is fully transcribed and validated.

尺蛾科（Geometridae）是鳞翅目（Lepidoptera）下的大型蛾类类群，目前已正式描述的物种达35000种。其学名源自拉丁语单词‘geometra’，意为‘大地测量者’，用以指代其幼虫独特的爬行姿态。尽管该类群外观与蝴蝶极具相似性，但实则隶属于蛾类。雄蛾触角呈羽状，多数种类于夜间活动，且具有连接前后翅的翅缰（frenulum）。夏威夷地区较为知名的特有尺蛾物种为花尺蛾属（Eupithecia）未定种（Eupithecia sp.）。该属物种仅在夏威夷种群为肉食性捕食者，与非原生分布的同类取食植物组织不同，它们以昆虫为食。这类静候型捕食者拥有特化的攫握爪用于夹持猎物，腹部附肢则可触发捕食反应。另一种虽为特有却已造成入侵危害的物种为寇阿蛾（Scotorythra paludicola）。历史上的种群爆发与数量激增曾导致成熟寇阿相思树出现大规模落叶现象。请尽您所能协助转录本馆馆藏的尺蛾标本。本次包含596项任务的转录项目已全部完成转录与验证。