There are many other species of inchworms many of these are cryptically colored. Inchworms may sometimes be confused with loopers which are in the family Noctuidae. Most adult Geometridae have winged females. Wings may be rounded or highly irregular is shape, and dull to brightly colored. Moths in this family often hold their wings together over the back like a butterfly at rest.
Females can only migrate by walking because they are wingless.
Females crawl up the tree trunks and onto branches to lay eggs in clusters of about 100 in bark crevices or on the limbs. The eggs of spring cankerworms hatch in a few weeks while the eggs of the fall cankerworm remain from November until March or April. Both species hatch from eggs in the spring when trees are just reaching budbreak and new foliage is expanding. Larvae feed on leaves for about 3 to 4 weeks before they drop to the ground on silken thread and pupate in the soil. Caterpillars may be blown in the wind to new locations when suspended on silken threads.