Celtic Wave

Idaea celtima · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Geometridae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Celtic Wave
Photo: John Rosford, CC BY

Idaea celtima is a geometrid moth in the family Geometridae. This species occurs in North America.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Idaea celtima belongs to the Geometridae family of moths.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

It is found in North America.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

Its native range includes North America.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 16 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Alabama, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Georgia, Louisiana, Arizona, South Carolina.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Status: native in North America; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist

Months it is reported in the US

JFMAMJJASOND

Source: GBIF

More photos

Celtic Wave photo 2
Photo: Amber M. King, CC BY
Celtic Wave photo 3
Photo: Alison Northup, CC BY
Celtic Wave photo 4
Photo: Victor Engel, CC BY
Celtic Wave photo 5
Photo: iNaturalist user, CC0

Same family (Geometridae)

Willow BeautyWillow BeautyPeribatodes rhomboidariaPale BeautyPale BeautyCampaea perlataLarge Lace-border MothLarge Lace-border MothScopula limboundataDamages trees, gardens or cropsSouthern Pine and Cypress AnglesSouthern Pine and Cypress AnglesMacaria bicolorataRiband WaveRiband WaveIdaea aversataYellow Shell MothYellow Shell MothCamptogramma bilineata

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaea_celtima

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.