''Hydrelia flammeolaria'', the small yellow wave, is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

of the family

Geometridae The geometer moths are moths belonging to the family Geometridae of the insect order Lepidoptera, the moths and butterflies. Their scientific name derives from the Ancient Greek ''geo'' γεω (derivative form of or "the earth"), and ''met ...

. The species was first described by

Johann Siegfried Hufnagel Johann Siegfried Hufnagel (17 October 1724, Uckerfelde, Falkenwalde, Prenzlau district, Brandenburg – 23 February 1795, Langenfeld, Sternberg district) was a German parson and entomologist (lepidopterist). Life Until the late 20th century nothing ...

in 1767 It is found in most of the

Palearctic realm The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...

, from western Europe to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

is 14–20 mm. It is similar to ''

Asthena albulata ''Asthena albulata'', the small white wave, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is known from all of Europe and is also present in the Near East. The wingspan is 14–18 mm. The ground colour of the wings is white (silky in appearance) ...

'', but can be distinguished from this on the fact that the brown-yellow areas of the wings are about the same size as the white (in ''A.albulata'' the white colour dominates) and that the forewing has a small, brown spot. The forewings are white with about six fairly wide, wavy, brownish-yellow cross-bands that sometimes flow partially together. In the middle of the wing there is a small, brown spot. The hindwings are white with three brownish-yellow cross-bands. The larva is light green with white longitudinal stripes on either side of the back. There is one generation per year, with adults on wing from mid-May to August. The larvae feed on various deciduous trees, including ''

Alnus Alders are trees comprising the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus comprises about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few spec ...

'' (including ''

Alnus glutinosa ''Alnus glutinosa'', the common alder, black alder, European alder, European black alder, or just alder, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to most of Europe, southwest Asia and northern Africa. It thrives in wet locations whe ...

'' and ''

Alnus incana ''Alnus incana'', the grey alder or speckled alder, is a species of multi-stemmed, shrubby tree in the birch family, with a wide range across the cooler parts of the Northern Hemisphere. Tolerant of wetter soils, it can slowly spread with runners ...

'') and '' Acer'' (including '' Acer campestris'') species. Larvae can be found from July to September. It overwinters as a pupa.

References

External links

Small yellow wave at ''UKMoths''''Lepiforum e.V.''
Moths described in 1767 Asthenini Moths of Asia Moths of Europe Taxa named by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel {{Asthenini-stub