Dark-marked Wave

Scopula compensata · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Geometridae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Dark-marked Wave
Photo: Annika Lindqvist, CC BY

The dark-marked wave has a wingspan of roughly 15 mm. It lives in the southeastern United States, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

Wingspan is about 15 mm.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

Found in southeastern North America, such as Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 10 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina, Mississippi, North Carolina.

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

Source: GBIF

Status: native in United States. Source: iNaturalist

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Dark-marked Wave photo 2
Photo: iNaturalist user, CC0
Dark-marked Wave photo 3
Photo: IDClaire, CC BY
Dark-marked Wave photo 4
Photo: iNaturalist user, CC0
Dark-marked Wave photo 5
Photo: Wendy McCrady, CC BY

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/Scopula_compensata

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.