Idaea tacturata
Encyclopedia
The Dot-lined Wave Moth (Idaea tacturata) is a moth
of the Geometridae family
. It is found from Virginia
to Florida
, west to south-eastern coastal Texas
.
The wingspan
is 13-21 mm. Adults have pearly white wings, with little or no speckling. There are four thin brownish, dotted or zigzag lines on the forewing that continue onto the hindwing. They are on wing year round in the southern part of the range.
The larvae feed on Trifolium species.
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
of the Geometridae family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
. It is found from Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, west to south-eastern coastal Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is 13-21 mm. Adults have pearly white wings, with little or no speckling. There are four thin brownish, dotted or zigzag lines on the forewing that continue onto the hindwing. They are on wing year round in the southern part of the range.
The larvae feed on Trifolium species.