Tuesday 21 May
In the News: First crane egg in the western UK in four centuries
Bright wave moth (Idaea ochrata cantiata)
What’s the World’s Favourite Species?
Find out here.Bright wave moth fact file
- Description
- Biology
- Range
- Habitat
- Status
- Threats
- Conservation
- Find out more
- Glossary
- References
- Print factsheet
Bright wave moth description
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Arthropoda |
| Class | Insecta |
| Order | Lepidoptera |
| Family | Geometridae |
| Genus | Idaea (1) |
Adult Bright Wave moths are ochreous brown to orange in colour with fine waved cross-lines on both the fore- and hind-wings (2). The slightly wrinkled caterpillars are pale ochreous brown in colour with three greyish lines along the back (4).
- Size
- Wingspan: 2.1- 2.4 cm (2)
More »
Top
Related species
Bright wave moth biology
Very little is known about the ecology of this moth (3). It is single brooded; the adult flight period is between late June late July (5); adults can be found resting in bushes and low vegetation during the day (2) and are easily disturbed (5). The overwintering stage is the caterpillar, which occurs between August and May, and probably feeds on the flowers of a range of sand hill plants (2).
TopBright wave moth range
Since 1980, this species has been recorded from three coastal areas in Suffolk, Essex and Kent, and may occur in other areas when blown by the wind (3). It is now believed that this species is no longer present in Suffolk or Essex, but is currently restricted as a British resident species to an 18km stretch of coastline in east Kent (5). It is also found in central and southern Europe, North Africa and northern Iran (3).
More »
Top
Species with a similar range
Bright wave moth habitat
Inhabits sandy shingle beaches, golf-course rough and coastal sand hills (3).
More »
Top
Species found in a similar habitat
Bright wave moth status
Classified as Rare in Great Britain but may be re-classified as Vulnerable (3).
TopBright wave moth threats
The main threats to this species include coastal erosion, golf-course management and pressure from humans using beaches inhabited by the Bright Wave moth for recreational purposes (3).
TopBright wave moth conservation
The Bright Wave moth is a priority species under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. It is also included in English Nature's Species Recovery Programme, which funded survey work in 1997 (6). The Species Action Plan for the Bright Wave aims to determine the detailed habitat needs of the species, maintain viable populations in the current range and where possible restore the species to its 1980s distribution (3), possibly with the help of reintroductions (6). In Suffolk, the species occurred on land that is managed as a Local Nature Reserve (LNR) and a Suffolk Wildlife Trust Reserve (6). Measures to prevent recreational damage to key beaches have been proposed, along with raising public awareness and appreciation of the species and the importance of its sensitive habitats (6).
|
The UK Biodiversity Action Plan for this species is available at UK BAP. |
Find out more
Further reading on moths:
Leverton, R. (2001) Enjoying Moths. Poyser, London.
Skinner, B. (1984) Moths of the British Isles. Penguin Books, Harmondsworth
Authentication
Information authenticated by Sean Clancy.
TopGlossary
- Single brooded
- (Also known as 'univoltine'). Insect life cycle that takes 12 months to be complete, and involves a single generation. The egg, larva, pupa or adult over winters as a dormant stage.
References
- National Biodiversity Network Species Dictionary ( January 2003) http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nbn/
- Skinner, B. (1984) Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles. Viking Press, London.
- UK BAP Species Action Plan (December 2001): http://www.ukbap.org.uk
- South, R. (1961) The moths of the British Isles. Frederick Warne & Co. Ltd. London.
- S.P. Clancy (2002) The Bright Wave Moth (Idaea ochrata cantiata Prout,1913) Survey 2002. Confidential Report to English Nature. Peterborough.
- Suffolk Local Biodiversity Action Plan (December 2001): http://www.suffolkcc.gov.uk/e-and-t/countryside/biodiversity/action_plan/species/documents/brightwavemoth_000.pdf
More »Related species
This species is featured in:
This is a UK sandy shore species. Visit our habitat page to learn more.
Sign up to our newsletter
Get the latest wild news direct to your inbox.
Get involved
ARKive relies on its media donors to donate photos and videos. Can you help? There are plenty of other ways you can get involved too!
X
Close
Close
Image credit
Bright Wave
© Paul Waring
Paul Waring
Windmill View
1366 Lincoln Road
Werrington
Peterborough
PE4 6LS
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 1733 571 917
paul_waring@btinternet.com
X
Close
Close
Link to this photo
Embed this ARKive thumbnail link by copying and pasting the code below.
Terms of Use - The displayed thumbnail may be used as a link from your website to ARKive's online content for private, scientific, conservation or educational purposes only. It may NOT be used within Apps.
Read more about
X
Close
Close
MyARKive
MyARKive offers the scrapbook feature to signed-up members, allowing you to organize your favourite ARKive images and videos and share them with friends.
X
Close
Close
Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials
Copyright in this website and materials contained on this website (Material) belongs to Wildscreen or its licensors.
Visitors to this website (End Users) are entitled to:
- view the contents of, and Material on, the website;
- download and retain copies of the Material on their personal systems in digital form in low resolution for their own personal use;
- teachers, lecturers and students may incorporate the Material in their educational material (including, but not limited to, their lesson plans, presentations, worksheets and projects) in hard copy and digital format for use within a registered educational establishment, provided that the integrity of the Material is maintained and that copyright ownership and authorship is appropriately acknowledged by the End User.
End Users shall not copy or otherwise extract, alter or manipulate Material other than as permitted in these Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials.
Additional use of flagged material
Green flagged material 
Certain Material on this website (Licence 4 Material) displays a green flag next to the Material and is available for not-for-profit conservation or educational use. This material may be used by End Users, who are individuals or organisations that are in our opinion not-for-profit, for their not-for-profit conservation or not-for-profit educational purposes. Low resolution, watermarked images may be copied from this website by such End Users for such purposes. If you require high resolution or non-watermarked versions of the Material, please contact Wildscreen with details of your proposed use.
Creative commons material
Certain Material on this website has been licensed to Wildscreen under a Creative Commons Licence. These images are clearly marked with the Creative Commons buttons and may be used by End Users only in the way allowed by the specific Creative Commons Licence under which they have been submitted. Please see http://creativecommons.org for details.
Any other use
Please contact the copyright owners directly (copyright and contact details are shown for each media item) to negotiate terms and conditions for any use of Material other than those expressly permitted above. Please note that many of the contributors to ARKive are commercial operators and may request a fee for such use.
Save as permitted above, no person or organisation is permitted to incorporate any copyright material from this website into any other work or publication in any format (this includes but is not limited to: websites, Apps, CDs, DVDs, intranets, extranets, signage, digital communications or on printed materials for external or other distribution). Use of the Material for promotional, administrative or for-profit purposes is not permitted.