Common pug

The common pug (Eupithecia vulgata) is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is a common species across the Palearctic region, 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.[2]

Common pug
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Geometridae
Genus: Eupithecia
Species:
E. vulgata
Binomial name
Eupithecia vulgata
(Haworth, 1809)[1]
Synonyms
  • Phalaena vulgata Haworth, 1809
  • Eupithecia lepsaria Staudinger, 1882
  • Eupithecia atropicta Dietze, 1910
  • Eupithecia austeraria Herrich-Schaffer, 1848
  • Geometra clusterata Hubner, 1813
  • Eupithecia cyrneata Schawerda, 1933
  • Phalaena pygmaeata Borkhausen, 1794

The wingspan is 18–21 mm. The ground colour of the forewings variously is very variable – brown to fuscous, with a reddish tinge, ochreous, or whitish. The darker fuscous striae are angulated and the postmedian line is biangulate. The posterior edge of the median band is marked with black, the subterminal line is interrupted into whitish dots and a small white tornal mark. The forewings have either a minute dark discal mark or are without a discal mark. Forewings with a crescentic pale tornal stain. The hindwings are similarly to the forewings but less conspicuously patterned.[3]

Two broods are produced each year with adults on the wing in May and June and again in August. The species flies at night and is attracted to light.

The larvae feed on a variety of plants (see list below). The species overwinters as a pupa.

Larval food plants

Subspecies
  • Eupithecia vulgata vulgata
  • Eupithecia vulgata clarensis Huggins, 1962
  • Eupithecia vulgata lepsaria Staudinger, 1882
  • Eupithecia vulgata scotica Cockayne, 1951

References
  1. Yu, Dicky Sick Ki. "Eupithecia vulgata (Haworth 1809)". Home of Ichneumonoidea. Taxapad. Archived from the original on 24 March 2016.
  2. Mironov, V.G. & Ratzel, U., 2012: Eupithecia Curtis, 1825 of Afghanistan (Geometridae: Larentiinae). Nota lepidopterologica 35 (2): 197-231. Full article: "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 August 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link).
  3. Eupithecia vulgata full description Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2003 onwards. British insects: the genera of Lepidoptera-Geometridae. Version: 29 December 2011
  • Chinery, Michael Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe 1986 (Reprinted 1991)
  • Skinner, Bernard Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles 1984
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