Riband Wave

Riband Wave

Idaea aversata

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Cévennes National Park

In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%

40 Verified sightings at Cévennes National Park From 2019 to 2026
451 In all 11 parks
June Best month
☀️🌙 Day & Night When it's spotted

About the Riband Wave

The riband wave (Idaea aversata) is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. It is an abundant species in Europe, the Near East and North Africa and across the Palearctic. Records are few in the Iberian Peninsula and the Balkan Peninsula. The north border is northern Sweden and northern Finland. The northernmost parts of Russia and a few areas of Russia, northwest of the Caspian Sea are excluded. In North Africa (eastern Algeria and Tunisia), there is a smaller presence belonging to a separate subspecies (Idaea aversata indeviata Prout, 1935). Outside Europe, the distribution area extends from northern Turkey up to the Caucasus, from there via Central Asia, Siberia and north-east China to Japan. The occurrence in Japan is regarded as subspecies (Idaea aversata japonica Inoue, 1955). A small, isolated occurrence in southern Turkey is remarkable.

The species has a wingspan of 30–35 mm. Its distinctive outline is familiar at lighted windows. The wings are buff or cream with dark fasciae (bands). Two main forms exist, equally abundant: one has darker shading between... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Snowdonia National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~20%
2 Vanoise National Park 🇫🇷 France
~10%
3 Wadden Sea National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
~10%
4 Cairngorms National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~10%
5 Aigüestortes National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~10%
6 Bavarian Forest National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
~10%
7 Cévennes National Park 🇫🇷 France
~10%
8 Pyrénées National Park 🇫🇷 France
~10%
9 Mercantour National Park 🇫🇷 France
~10%
10 Ecrins National Park 🇫🇷 France
~10%
11 Fertő-Hanság National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Liverpool 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~30%
2 London 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~20%
3 Birmingham 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~20%
4 Manchester 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~20%
5 Porto 🇵🇹 Portugal
~20%
6 Essen 🇩🇪 Germany
~20%
7 Budapest 🇭🇺 Hungary
~10%
8 Kyiv 🇺🇦 Ukraine
~10%
9 Leeds 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~10%
10 Copenhagen 🇩🇰 Denmark
~10%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Riband Wave in Cévennes National Park?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Riband Wave sighting in Cévennes National Park on a given day, based on 40 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 225th most-seen of the 996 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Riband Wave in Cévennes National Park?

June and July

In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Riband Wave in Cévennes National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October to May, the lowest months. Those are among Cévennes National Park's driest months, with about 60 mm of rain a month against 260 mm in October.

What time of day is best to see a Riband Wave?

Between 10 pm and 1 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Riband Wave sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.

Is Cévennes National Park the best place to see a Riband Wave?

7th of 11

Of the 11 parks where we can rate Riband Wave sightings, Cévennes National Park ranks 7th at about 10%. The best odds are in Snowdonia National Park (United Kingdom, about 20%), Vanoise National Park (France, about 10%) and Wadden Sea National Park (Germany, about 10%).

Which relatives of the Riband Wave live in Cévennes National Park?

Same genus: Idaea

The closest relatives of the Riband Wave that you can see in Cévennes National Park (genus Idaea) are Portland Ribbon Wave (about 10%), Satin Wave (about 10%) and Idaea ostrinaria (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Riband Wave sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Riband Wave is recorded against all the insects logged in Cévennes National Park (40 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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