Let’s take a quick look at the members of a tribe in the Ennominae: the Anagogini. Geometer moths are a seriously massive family, and the Ennominae subfamily are pretty darn massive as well. So we’ll chip away at their contents, piece by piece.

This is a pretty group of moths – I’ve been fortunate enough to see all eight members found here in BC.

What initially caught my eye on this tribe was the BC and Canada checklists’ inclusion of Selenia, while iNat’s taxonomy places them directly in the subfamily. See this iNat page discussing how they boil down multiple taxon frameworks to a single unified one used on their site.

• Probole amicaria (Friendly probole moth). A fairly common moth. There’s a second Probole on the BC & Canada checklists, P. alienaria, but it looks like it’s been more recently lumped in with the amicaria. There’s a forum post on bugguide back from 2016 which discusses this very subject, with a little more information on this info page. With regard to the genus name, “probole” is a bony protuberance typically on the back of the head. However, I haven’t read anything to confirm this is a morphological feature of the species.
• Selenia alciphearia (Brown-tipped thorn). Extremely common, these are seen all over the province. They’re quite distinctive, holding their wings flat together above their body.
• Selenia kentaria (Kent’s geometer moth). These are quite a bit rarer than S. alciphearia. I spotted the first one for iNat in May 2023 in Fort St John – it’s noticeably whiter than S. alciphearia, so much that it stood out right away.
• Metanema inatomaria (Pale metanema). Another puzzling genus name, etymologically-speaking. I find understanding the etymology really helps for memorization and getting a better understanding of the species/group – especially with such a paucity of information out there! But all too often you have to make an educated guess. Meta=beyond/after; nema=not(?). No idea.
• Metanema determinata (Dark metanema). Less common than its BC sibling but quite similar. Their distal spot is supposed to be smaller or not even present. But honestly I’m not wholly confident differentiating between the two, other than through their overall colouration.
• Metarranthis duaria (Ruddy metarranthis moth). These are quite common on Bowen Island where I live. They remind me of other geometers, like a ruddy version of a hemlock looper.
• Plagodis pulveraria (Barred umber).
• Plagodis phlogosaria (Straight-lined plagodis moth). Always a treat to see in the net! Very distinctive indeed.

Geometridae
Ennominae
Anagonini