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Sticker of Riband wave
Bug card No. 3629 of 4,939

Riband wave

Idaea aversata
Eats: PlantsMothsGardens and meadows6 legs

The riband wave is a small, pale moth with wings the colour of cream or straw. Thin wavy lines run across its wings, and many have a dark brown band like a ribbon in the middle. It often rests on lit windows at night.

Lives in
Europe, North Africa and across Asia to Japan
Wingspan
3 to 3.5 cm (1.2 to 1.4 in)
Top speed
about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
Flying, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It cannot bite or sting.
What does it eat?
Like other moths of its family, its caterpillar eats plant leaves.
For real!Photo of Riband wave
Picture by Photo by User:Monedula .. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How wide are its wings?

Riband wave wings about 3.5 cm tip to tip (1.4 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)A banana about 18 cm (7.1 in)
wings as wide as 6 grains of rice in a rowcould fly across a whole football pitch in 29 seconds

How big is Riband wave compared to YOU?

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How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

There are two main kinds that are just as common: one has a dark band across the wings and the other does not.

2

Some riband waves have a reddish orange colour.

3

It was given its scientific name by Carl Linnaeus in 1758.

4

Its caterpillar is dull brown with wrinkly skin and brown V-shaped marks.

you asked

Most asked questions about Riband wave

?Is the riband wave moth harmful?

No. It is a small harmless moth that cannot bite or sting.

?How big is a riband wave?

Its wings measure about 3 to 3.5 centimetres from tip to tip.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Idaea aversata
Named by
Linnaeus, 1758
Group
Moths
Family
Geometridae
Classification
Insecta > Lepidoptera > Geometridae
Lives on
Europe, Africa, Asia

Where the facts come from

  1. Riband wave (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Photo by User:Monedula .. Public domain, 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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More from the same group: Moths

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