Geometridae. 300 species 1 : 2 : 3 : 4 : 5 : 6 : 7 : 8 Home

Common Name Latin Name Food plant(s) Description
Single-dotted Wave   Idaea dimidiata   Burnet saxifrage and cow parsley   Light brown, dark brown dorsal line, white thoracic segments. Most of England, Wales, southern Scotland and Ireland
Satin Wave   Idaea subsericata   Plantain, dandelion, dock and knotgrass   Shades of brown, light grey dorsal line bordered with dark brown, brown blotch on ninth segment. Southern Britain
Weaver's Wave   Idaea contigueria   Heather and crowberry   Light brown, diamond-shaped dark brown markings along the back. North-west Wales
Treble Brown Spot   Idaea trigeminata   Knotgrass, ivy and plantains   Greyish-brown, lighter ochreous markings, greyish hairs. Southern England and into south-east Wales
Small Scallop   Idaea emarginata   Bedstraw   Ochreous with whitish-grey dorsal line. Central and southern England and in Wales
Riband Wave   Idaea aversata   Knotgrass, chickweed, dandelion and dock   Shades of brown or grey with faint dorsal line and darker cross-shaped markings on the back. Widespread
Portland Ribbon Wave   Idaea degeneraria   Knotgrass, dandelion and dock   Ochreous with brown or russet markings, cross-shaped markings on middle segments. Portland, Dorset
Plain Wave   Idaea straminata   Knotgrass, dandelion and persicaria   Shades of brown, cross-shaped markings on the middle segments. Local, but widely distributed
Vestal   Rhodometra scararia   Knotgrass   Shades of green, whitish underparts, darker markings of reddish-brown on the back. Immigrant
Oblique Striped   Phibalapteryx virgata   Lady's bedstraw   Shades of brown, darker central line, greenish-white below black spiracles. Coastal sandhills of central southern England and in the Breckland (East Anglia)
Oblique Carpet   Orthonoma vittata   Marsh bedstraw   Brownish-grey, dark dorsal line and pale stripe bordered by a darker line. Widespread
Gem   Orthonoma obstipata   Groundsel, knotgrass and dock   Green or brown (variable) pale underparts, small grey tubercles at the rear end. Southern coastal counties
Balsam Carpet   Xanthorhoe biriviata   Orange balsam   Greyish-green or brownish, black markings. Local in Middlesex, Surrey, Bucks, north Hampshire, Kent, Berkshire, Norfolk and Cambridge
Flame Carpet   Xanthorhoe designata   Wallflower, cabbage and other species   Blackish-green dorsally, wedge-shaped brownish markings along the middle of the back. Widespread.
Red Carpet   Xanthorhoe munitata   Lady's mantle   Bright green or ochreous, black dorsal markings, dashed in the middle segments. Northern counties of England, Wales and Ireland, most of Scotland
Red Twin-spot Carpet   Xanthorhoe spadicearia   Lady's bedstraw, goosegrass and knotgrass   Ochreous with dark olive-brown markings. Distributed throughout
Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet   Xanthorhoe ferrugata   Dock, dandelion and bedstraw   Shades of ochreous, darker markings dorsally. Widely distributed
Large Twin-spot Carpet   Xanthorhoe quadrifasiata   Bedstraw, chickweed and dock   Greyish-brown, darker markings on middle segments, black spiracles. Southern half of Britain
Silver-ground Carpet   Xanthorhoe montanata   Bedstraw, primrose, chickweed and groundsel   Greyish-brown, blackish-brown markings on the central dorsal, pale stripe subdorsally. Most parts of Britain
Garden Carpet   Xanthorhoe fluctuata   Cruciferae   Light green to olive green, may or may not have dark dorsal markings. Throughout most of Britain
Spanish Carpet   Scotopteryx peribolata   Gorse and broom   Yellowish-grey, incomplete black dorsal line. Channel Islands
Chalk Carpet   Scotopteryx bipunctaria   Clovers and trefoils   Ochreous, bluish-grey dorsal line, parallel dark grey markings. Southern England and Wales chalk soils
Shaded Broad-bar   Scotopteryx chenopodiata   Clovers and vetches   Bluish-grey, twin whitish stripes on back and sides, broader line below black spiracles, few black dots. Widely distributed
Lead Belle   Scotopteryx mucronata   Gorse, broom, petty whin and dyer's greenweed   Light grey, black markings dorsally, dashes along dorsal line bordered by parallel twin spots. Western and northern parts of the British Isles
July Belle   Scotopteryx luridata   Gorse and petty whin   Similar to above. Widely distributed