www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

It is Idaea ochrata - I don’t know where rhe ‘looks’ came from...

Age takes no prisoners Guy and my eyesight has been one of the first casualties.
My school report always read , must pay more attention.

Yes to all ,with the exception of the Wave ,I wonder if it is Idaea Serpentata .......Ochraceous Wave , looks very like the individual on the UK MOTHS Website ....................but otherwise yes to all .
Ochraceous Wave is (apparently )now extinct as a breeding species in mainland UK ,but i,ve read that it is found on the channel islands
Don,t know its status on mainland France.
Regards Allan.W.

I considered Idaea serpentata, I. ochrata and I. rufaria. Leraut says of each:

serpentata: "Closely related species - Idaea ochrata (Scopoli), more definitely ochre and transverse lines more distinct";
ochrata: "Closely related species - Idaea rufaria (Hübner), larger and coloured more in yellowish tones";
rufaria: "Closely related species - Idaea ochrata (Scopoli), smaller with a brighter tone of russet".

All three fly in the area in question. I'm not at all a moth expert and agreed with ochrata because some web pictures did seem to look like this moth. The pictures in Leraut and my other French book are not conclusive. So if you think it's serpentata or rufaria I'm happy to learn.

Guy

I,m no expert either Guy ,far from it,Its just to my eye it looks very like the single image of Ochraecous on the UK Moth website ,compared to the other mentioned species .......................may well be wrong !
Always learning ! and quite happy to be corrected . Regards Allan.W.