Wormwood pug | |
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Form goossensiata | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Family: | Geometridae |
Genus: | Eupithecia |
Species: | E. absinthiata |
Binomial name | |
Eupithecia absinthiata | |
Synonyms | |
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The wormwood pug (Eupithecia absinthiata) is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Carl Alexander Clerck in 1759. It is a common species across the Palearctic region as well as North America.
The wingspan is 21–23 mm and the forewings are warm brown with two black spots along the costa with a black discal spot completing a distinctive triangle. There is a pale narrow line near the fringe with a distinct whitish spot near the tornus, although this is not as prominent as in the rather similar currant pug. The hindwings are greyish brown.ab. obscura Dietze (Kassimov, Central Russia) is much darker, the forewing described as sepia-coloured. [2] [3] [4]
Adult larvae are smooth and elongated. They adapt to the basic colour of the respective food plant and are accordingly greenish, cream-colored or brownish colored and usually show a reddish-brown diamond-like pattern on the back. Sometimes light green, almost unmarked specimens also appear. The yellow-brown pupa is provided with greenish wing sheaths. At the cremaster there are eight hook bristles, the middle pair of which is strongly formed.
Eupithecia absinthiata requires examination of a genital preparation for certain identification.
The species flies at night in June and July and is attracted to light.
As the name suggests, the larva feeds on the flowers of mugwort (which is sometimes called "common wormwood"), but it will also feed on the flowers of a range of other plants (see list below). The species overwinters as a pupa.
The foxglove pug is a moth of the family Geometridae found in Europe. It was described by the English entomologist James Francis Stephens in 1831.
The mottled pug is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1813. It is found across the Palearctic region apart from around the Mediterranean Sea. It is common in the British Isles apart from Scotland where it is rather local.
The lime-speck pug is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is a common species throughout the Palearctic region, the Near East and North Africa.
The currant pug is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Henry Doubleday in 1856. It is found across the Nearctic and Palearctic regions. Its occurrence extends eastwards from Ireland, across Europe to the Near East, the Urals, the Ussuri region and on to the island of Sakhalin. In the Pyrenees and the Alps it rises to altitudes of 1500 and 1800 metres respectively.
The common pug is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is a common species across the Palearctic region, including the Near East and North Africa. It ranges from the Atlantic coast of Ireland and Portugal across Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia to the Russian Far East (Priamurje) and Korea.
The grey pug is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found throughout the Palearctic region. It is also found in North America. Since it does not place any special demands on climatic conditions, special caterpillar food plants, geological subsoil or the like it is a typical species of almost any Hochstaudenflur, where it occurs in the herb layer, in bushes and even on deciduous trees. It can be found on forest edges and hedgerows, on heath, in rocky places and wetlands, parks and gardens, as well as in villages and town centres.
The tawny speckled pug is a moth of the family Geometridae.
The bordered pug is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found across the Palearctic region. In the Pyrenees, the species can be found up to an altitude of 1800 metres. It prefers steppe areas, open bushy terrain, fallow and unimproved grasslands and parkland.
The goldenrod pug is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Henry Doubleday in 1861. It is found throughout the Palearctic region. In the British Isles it is widespread but rather locally distributed.
The double-striped pug is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is a widespread and common species, being found throughout the Palearctic region, including the Near East and North Africa.
The scalloped hazel is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Carl Alexander Clerck in 1759.
The mottled umber is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is common throughout much of the Palearctic region. The species was first described by Carl Alexander Clerck in 1759.
Eupithecia innotata, the angle-barred pug, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1767. It ranges from Spain in the west to western Siberia and Central Asia in the east.
Eupithecia indigata, the ochreous pug, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species can be found in Europe. and across the Palearctic as far as the Altai Mountains It primarily colonizes pine forests, mixed pine forests and pine plantations. In the Alps it rises to heights of 1800 metres.
Eupithecia dodoneata, the oak-tree pug, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species can be found in Europe into West Russia and including the Central Black Earth Region Other occurrences are found in Asia Minor, the Caucasus as well as in Morocco. In the Pyrenees and the Alps, it rises to altitudes of 1000 metres. The species prefers dry oak and oak mixed forests.
Eupithecia nanata, the narrow-winged pug, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1813. It can be found all over Europe including Russia and Ukraine. In the Alps it occurs up to 2,200 metres (7,200 ft) above sea level and in the Pyrenees to 2400 meters. The species prefers dry or boggy heathlands.
Eupithecia pimpinellata, the pimpinel pug, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1813. It is known from most of Europe to Morocco, Siberia, Kyrgyzstan, Altai, Mongolia.It primarily colonizes bushy places, forest edges, clearings, hedges, mountain slopes, embankments, railway dams and parks as well as semi-dry grasslands. In the Alps it rises to heights of 1800 metres.
Eupithecia pygmaeata, the marsh pug, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is known from most of Europe, western and southern Siberia, the Russian Far East, northern Mongolia and North America .The species primarily colonizes floodplain and disused forests, bogs, river banks and marshy meadows. E. pygmaeata reaches up to 1800 meters in South Tyrol.
Eupithecia distinctaria, the thyme pug, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found throughout Europe. from Ireland, Britain and the Iberian Peninsula through western and central Europe then East to Russia and Iran. In the north the range reaches as far as the southern Fennoscandia, to the south, where it is more common, it occupies the Mediterranean and Asia Minor. It is found primarily on warm, stony slopes and rocky structures as well as on sparse grassy areas with thyme mounds. In the Alps, it rises to heights of 2000 metres.
Eupithecia expallidata, the bleached pug, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found in North-West and Central Russia, South-East Scandinavia to the North Mediterranean and West Europe including the British Isles.