Portland ribbon wave
Idaea degeneraria
The Portland ribbon wave is a small pale brown moth with a darker brown band across its wings. It loves warm, sunny limestone cliffs. It flies in early summer.
Lives in
Most of Europe, the Near East and North Africa, on warm limestone slopes
Wingspan
2.6 to 3.1 cm (1 to 1.2 in)
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It cannot bite or sting.
What does it eat?
Its caterpillars eat low plants, mostly dandelions and knotgrass.
How big is it?
How wide are its wings?
🍚wings as wide as 5 grains of rice in a row⚽could fly across a whole football pitch in 32 seconds
How big is Portland ribbon 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)
Portland ribbon wave about 12 km/h (7.5 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
There is only one family of moths each year, flying in June and July.
2
It is a geometer moth. Their caterpillars walk by looping their bodies, as if measuring the ground.
3
Scientists know three different subspecies of it.
you asked
Most asked questions about Portland ribbon wave
?What does the Portland ribbon wave eat?
Its caterpillars eat dandelions and knotgrass.
?Where does the Portland ribbon wave live?
In most of Europe, the Near East and North Africa, especially on warm limestone cliffs.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Idaea degeneraria
- Named by
- Hübner, 1799
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Geometridae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Geometridae
- Lives on
- Europe, Asia, Africa
Where the facts come from
- Idaea degeneraria (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 Slimguy. CC BY 4.0, 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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