Single-dotted wave
Idaea dimidiata
The single-dotted wave is a tiny, pale moth with thin wavy lines on its wings. Each wing has a small black dot. It flies at night in damp places like marshy woods and river banks.
Lives in
Europe, North Africa, western and central Asia, and the far north of the United States and Canada
Wingspan
1.3 to 1.8 cm (0.51 to 0.71 in)
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It cannot bite or sting.
What does it eat?
Its thin grey-brown caterpillars feed on plants.
How big is it?
How wide are its wings?
⚽could fly across a whole football pitch in 40 seconds
How big is Single-dotted wave compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast is it?
A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
Single-dotted wave about 9.4 km/h (5.8 mph)
A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
Its wings are less than 2 centimetres wide.
2
It flies from June to August and is attracted to lights.
3
Its caterpillar is long and thin, with a dark V shaped spot on each part of its body.
4
It is found on almost all the islands of the Mediterranean Sea.
you asked
Most asked questions about Single-dotted wave
?How big is the single-dotted wave?
It is tiny, with wings only 13 to 18 millimetres wide.
?Where does the single-dotted wave live?
In damp places like marshy woods, fens and river banks.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Idaea dimidiata
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Geometridae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Geometridae
- Lives on
- Europe, Africa, Asia, North America
Where the facts come from
- Idaea dimidiata (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by picture taken by Olaf Leillinger. CC BY-SA 2.5, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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