| Eupithecia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Eupithecia innotata | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Geometridae |
| Subfamily: | Larentiinae |
| Tribe: | Eupitheciini |
| Genus: | Eupithecia Curtis, 1825 [1] |
| Synonyms [2] | |
| |
Eupithecia is the largest genus of moths of the family Geometridae, [3] and the namesake and type genus of tribe Eupitheciini. Species in the genus are, like those of other genera in the tribe, commonly known as pugs. [4] The genus is highly speciose, with over 1400 species, and members of the genus are present in most of the world with exception of Australasia. [3] Roughly a quarter of described Eupithecia species occur in the Neotropical realm, where they have an especially high species diversity in the montane rain forests of the Andes. [5] The genus includes a few agricultural pest species, such as the currant pug moth, Eupithecia assimilata , which is a pest on hops, [6] and the cloaked pug moth, Eupithecia abietaria , which is a cone pest in spruce seed orchards. [7]
Contents
- Species
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- H
- I
- J-K
- L
- M
- N
- O
- P
- Q-R
- S
- T
- U-V
- W-Z
- Species of unknown status
- References
- Other sources
- External links
Adult specimens of Eupithecia are typically small, often between 12 and 35 mm, with muted colours, and display a large amount of uniformity between species. [3] As a result, identification of a specimen as part of genus Eupithecia is generally easy, but identifying the exact species is difficult and often reliant on examination of the dissected genitals. [3] Most species share a characteristic resting pose in which the forewings are held flat at a right angle to the body—that is, the costal margins of both forewings form a more-or-less horizontal line—while the hindwings are largely covered by the forewings. [8] They are generally nocturnal. [3]
Of the species where the larval behaviour is known, most feed from the flowers and seeds of their food plants rather than the foliage. [3] Many species have a very specific food plant. The larvae of all but one [9] of the endemic species of Eupithecia from Hawaii are ambush predators of a wide variety of insects and spiders. [10] These ambush predators have raptorial legs, with which they grab prey that comes into contact with their hind end. [10]
