Inchworms International Trivia Quiz

Answer: Geometridae

Geometrid means "earth-measurer" in Greek and inchworms are called this because it looks like they are measuring the ground, an inch at a time.
Drosophilidae is the fruit fly family. Fabaceae is the black locust.

Answer: They have no legs or prolegs on their abdomen

Inchworms have three pairs of true legs at the front end, but only two or three pairs of prolegs at the rear. Prolegs are abdominal appendages, but not true legs. The inchworm moves by drawing its hind end forward while holding on with the front, then moves the front section forward while holding on with the back.

Answer: Moths

Adult moths are usually a patterned grey or brown and have a slender abdomen. They have broad wings, which are held flat away from the body with the hind wings visible. The wingspan of Geometrid moths varies from one to two inches. Their colouring and patterns afford them excellent camouflage against the tree bark and foliage.

Answer: Hawaii

The Eupithecia genus of inchworms has over 1000 members worldwide, but only a few are carnivorous. All of these, however, are indigenous to Hawaii. Physically, they differ from their herbivore relatives in that they have of claw-like legs, which they use to grab hold of their prey. They eat small insects such as the fruit fly.

Answer: Snails

Other natural predators of the inchworm include Trichogramma wasps. These wasps lay their own eggs inside the inchworm eggs, and the parasitic larva consumes the embryo as it develops. People also wrap sticky paper around the trees to trap the crawlers. If you have a heavy infestation of inchworms on your fruit trees, you may need to resort to spraying with a non-toxic pesticide.

Answer: They mimic twigs or foliage

If an inchworm is disturbed, it will stand motionless on it's back legs and this makes it look like a small projection on the tree. The species Nemoria has mottled brown projections along their bodies to resemble bits of dead leaves and bark.

Answer: To reach the ground so they can pupate

When it's time for them to pupate, the inchworms drop to the ground on their threads, sometimes in mass numbers.
Inchworms don't need to look for water, they get all the water they need from the leaves they eat. They also cannot mate until after they metamorphose into their adult form.
Inchworms sometimes drop out of sight using their threads as a defence against persistent predators.

Answer: Spring and autumn (fall)

There are two types of cankerworms, the fall cankerworm (Alsophila pometaria) and the spring cankerworm (Paleacrita vernata). They both hatch from eggs about the time that new buds are forming on trees. The inchworms then feed for about six weeks when the larvae burrow into the soil to pupate.
The fall cankerworm emerges from the pupa in the fall and the females climb the trees to lay her eggs before the winter. The spring cankerworm remains in the pupal stage until the end of winter.

Answer: Chickweed geometer (Haematopis grataria)

The chickweed moth has yellow wings with pink/red strips on them.
Other green Geometrid moths include the subfamily of Geometrinae, commonly called emerald moths. These include the red-fringed emerald (Nemoria bistriaria), the blotched emerald (Comibaena bajularia) and the large emerald (Geometra papilionaria). My personal favourite is the showy emerald moth (Dichorda iradaria) with its bright green wings and lacy patterning.
"Chloro" means "green," so an animal with "chloro" in its name likely has some green on it!

Answer: False hemlock looper (Nepytia canosaria)

After they emerge as moths, the winged females fly into the tree to mate, while the wingless females mate on the ground before climbing the trees. The moths then lay their eggs under flaky bark or in cracks or crevices in the tree trunk.
One way of differentiating between male and female winged moths is by their antennae. The males often have feathery antennae to enable them to sense the female pheromones.