Geometridae. 300 species 1 : 2 : 3 : 4 : 5 : 6 : 7 : 8 Home
Common Name Latin Name Food plant(s) Description
Orange Underwing   Archiearis parthenias   Birch and rowan   Green, six thin white stripes along back and sides, white line beneath black spiracles. Widely distributed
Light Orange Underwing   Archiearis notha   Aspen   Green with black stripes. Walks in a 'looped' manner. Southern England
March Moth   Alsophila aescularia   Oak, hawthorn, blackthorn, birch and other deciduous trees   Pale green, many thin white stripes. Most of the British Isles
Rest Harrow   Aplasta ononaria   Common restharrow   Bright green, many short bristles each growing from a yellow tubercle. South-east Kent
Grass Emerald   Pseudoterpna pruinata   Broom, gorse and petty whin   Dark green, white spiracular stripe, pale lines subdorsally. Distributed throughout Britain, except the north of Scotland
Large Emerald   Geometra papilionaria   Birch   Yellowish-green, covered in white warts, four pairs of reddish-brown tipped humps. Widely distributed
Blotched Emerald   Comibaena bajularia   Oak   Reddish-brown, marked darker brown and black, short bristles. Southern England, also occurs in east Wales
Essex Emerald   Thetidea smaragdaria   Sea wormwood   Light brown, mottled with darker brown, wrinkled. Saltmarshes of Kent and Essex. Protected by law.
Common Emerald   Hemithea aestivaria   Hawthorn, oak, sallow, blackthorn and birch   Variable in colour; green with reddish-brown segments; ochreous with dark brown chevrons on the back. Fairly common in England
Small Grass Emerald   Chlorissa viridata   Heather, birch, creeping willow and sallow   Whitish-green, pinkish-brown dorsal line. Southern England (local)
Sussex Emerald   Thalera fimbrialis   Wild carrot, yarrow, ragworts   Light green, bright pink dorsal line. Known only on the shingle area of Kent. Protected by law.
Small Emerald   Hemistola chrysoprasaria   Traveller's-joy and clematis   Yellowish-green, white lines, minute white tubercles. Southern and eastern England
Little Emerald   Jodis lactearia   Oak, birch, alder, blackthorn, hawthorn and bilberry   Dark green,yellow ringed blotches. Widely distributed
           
Dingy Mocha   Cyclophora pendularia   Sallows   Bluish-grey marked with olive-green along the back, vague brown markings laterally. Local species found in Dorset, Hampshire, southern Wiltshire and Shropshire. Declining in numbers.
Mocha   Cyclophora annulata   Maple   Green, yellow between segments, two pale lines along centre of the back. Southern England
Birch Mocha   Cyclophora albipunctata   Birch   Green, yellow between segments, brown head and claspers, or ashy-grey with russet marks. Widely distributed
Blair's Mocha   Cyclophora puppillaria   Evergreen oak   Yellowish-green, yellow between segments, minute yellow dots all over. South coast
False Mocha   Cyclophora porata   Oak   Shades of green or ochreous, paler colour between segments. Southern parts of England
Maiden's Blush   Cyclophora punctaria   Oak   Green or grey with yellow markings, head mottled with brown. Widely distributed
Clay Triple-lines   Cyclophora linearia   Beech   Bluish-grey, russet blotches edged with cream, pale, thin dorsal line. Southern England
Blood-vein   Timandra griseata   Dock, sorrel, knotgrass and orache   Greyish-brown, darker brown mottling, body tapers from the fourth segment. Southern England and Wales
Lewes Wave   Scopula immorata   Knotgrass in captivity   Ochreous, pale line edged with brown, brown stripe subdorsally. Occurred in one wood in East Sussex, but has not been seen since 1961
Sub-angled Wave   Scopula nigropunctata   Traveller's-joy and dandelion in captivity   Ochreous, pale line dorsally, two pale lines on the sides. Southern Kent and south-east Sussex
Lace Border   Scopulata ornata   Common thyme and marjoram   Light reddish-brown, marked with black, whitish line along lower side. Confined to the North Downs of Kent and Surrey, Norfolk and Gloucestershire
Tawny Wave   Scopula rubiginata   Knotgrass and dandelion   Light greyish-brown, pale dorsal line that has black markings either side of it. Restricted to the Breck and coastal sandhills of Suffolk
Mullein Wave   Scopula marginepunctata   Plantains, yarrow, mugwort and knotgrass   Ochreous with twin brown line centrally. South and west coasts
Small Blood-vein   Scopula imitaria   Privet, chickweed, dandelion and knotgrass   Reddish-ochreous or greyish-brown, pair of brown stripes on either side of darkish central line. Southern areas
Rosy Wave   Scopula emutaria   Sea beet   Pale ochreous, brown dorsal line, black spiracles. Coastal moth as far north as Yorkshire
Lesser Cream Wave   Scopula immutata   Meadowsweet, common valerian   Pale ochreous, segments ringed with tiny ridges. Damp areas of England, Wales and Ireland
Cream Wave   Scopula floslactata   Docks, dandelion, knotgrass, persicaria   Pale ochreous blending to ochreous-brown. Widely distributed
Smoky Wave   Scopula ternata   Heather and bilberry   Pale ochreous blending to reddish-brown, ridged segments. Scotland, Wales and northern parts of England and on Exmoor
Bright Wave   Idaea ochrata   Knotgrass and dandelion   Ochreous, two narrow brown lines centrally. Coastal sandhills of Kent, Essex and Suffolk
Purple-bordered Gold   Idaea muricata   Marsh cinquefoil   Greyish-brown, small black markings dorsally. Wet heathlands, bogs and fens as far north as Cumbria and Yorkshire
Least Carpet   Idaea vulpinaria   Ivy, traveller's-joy, groundsel and alyssum   Greyish-brown, odd circular ochreous structure formed of tiny warts. South London, north Kent, Surrey and south-west Essex
Dotted Border Wave   Idaea sylvestraria   Knotgrass, bramble, plantain and dandelion   Ashy-grey with darker markings along the back. Southern England
Small Fan-footed Wave   Idaea biselata   Dandelion, knotgrass, plantain and bramble   Shades of brown and grey, with darker markings, few tubercles. Widely distributed
Rusty Wave   Idaea inquinata   Dried herbs and withered plants   Ochreous, pale dorsal line, darker blotches on fourth to eight segments, tiny warts. Not recorded in the British Isles in the wild, may be imported on dried flowers
Silky Wave   Idaea dilutaria   Rock-rose   Greyish, dull, ochreous markings dorsally, double row of warts along the back. On the coast on the Great Orme
Dwarf Cream Wave   Ideae fuscovenosa   Bramble, knotgrass and dandelion  

Greyish-brown, vague cross-shaped markings along middle of the back. Widely distributed
Isle of Wight Wave   Idaea humiliata   Dock, knotgrass and dandelion   Light brown with many tubercles. Extinct since 1931 it used to occur on the southern coats of the I.O.W
Small Dusty Wave   Idaea seriata   Ivy   Shades of brown, darker markings dorsally, black spot on fifth segment. Widely distributed