Scopula rubiginata
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Scopula rubiginata, the tawny wave, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1767. Subspecies Scopula rubiginata ochraceata Staudinger, 1901 is mostly treated as a species, Scopula ochraceata.
The Latin species name rubiginata means "rusty", with reference to the coloration of the wings. This species is present from the Iberian Peninsula up to the Ural. In the North its range extends to Denmark and Southern Sweden and Finland. It is not present in most of the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula (with the exception of Gibraltar), Sicily and the southern Greek islands. In Morocco it is found in the Atlas mountains. Furthermore, it is also present in North Turkey, the Caucasus and the Crimea. Eastwards, its range stretches through southern Siberia, the northern central Asian mountains up to Mongolia. These moths preferably inhabit sandy terrain, such as sand dunes dry-warm environment, grasslands and heath, at an elevation up to 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) above sea level.
Scopula rubiginata has a wingspan of 16–22 mm. These moths are rather small... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 2 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Tawny Wave sighting in Pyrénées National Park on a given day, based on 16 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 610th most-seen of the 1277 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May and August–September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Tawny Wave in Pyrénées National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June–July and October–April, the lowest months.
Between 9 pm and midnight
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Tawny 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.
2nd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Tawny Wave sightings, Pyrénées National Park ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Cévennes National Park (France, about 10%).
Same genus: Scopula
The closest relatives of the Tawny Wave that you can see in Pyrénées National Park (genus Scopula) are Lace Border (about 10%), Lewes Wave (about 10%) and Sub-Angled Wave (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Tawny Wave is recorded against all the insects logged in Pyrénées National Park (16 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.
