About Idaea straminata (Borkhausen, 1794)
Idaea straminata, commonly known as the plain wave, is a species of moth in the family Geometridae. This species is distributed across Europe, including Western Russia and the Balkans. It has a wingspan ranging from 28 to 33 mm. Its wings have a pale greyish ochreous base color, with scattered black speckles across the surface. All of its wings bear a small but distinct black discal dot. The postmedian line is often fairly well developed, marked with darker dots along the veins. On the hindwing, this line curves inward between the radial veins and again posteriorly, and is also more or less strongly angled on the first radial. The two lines or shaded areas that border the subterminal are usually very underdeveloped or absent, particularly the distal one. On the hindwing, the median shade crosses or follows the discal dot. On the underside of the wings, the forewing is slightly darker and the hindwing is slightly whiter; the postmedian line and usually the median line are more strongly marked on the underside than on the upper surface. The larva is slightly knotted in texture, and is dark grey-brown with dark, hourglass-shaped spots along its dorsum. Adult moths produce a single generation that flies in July. The larvae feed on dandelion and knotgrass.
