Wormwood pug

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 and the Near East, as well as North America.

Wormwood pug
Form goossensiata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Geometridae
Genus: Eupithecia
Species:
E. absinthiata
Binomial name
Eupithecia absinthiata
(Clerck, 1759)[1]
Synonyms
  • Phalaena absinthiata Clerck, 1759
  • Eupithecia callunae Speyer, 1867
  • Eupithecia coagulata Guenée, 1857
  • Phalaena elongata Haworth, 1809
  • Eupithecia elongata
  • Eupithecia geminata Packard, 1873
  • Eupithecia goossensiata Mabille, 1869
  • Eupithecia knautiata Gregson, 1874
  • Eupithecia meritata Pearsall, 1908
  • Geometra minutata Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775
  • Eupithecia minutata
  • Eupithecia notata Stephens, 1831
  • Eupithecia packardata Taylor, 1907
  • Eupithecia catharinae Vojnits, 1969

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. 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.

Larval food plants

References
  1. Yu, Dicky Sick Ki. "Eupithecia absinthiata (Clerck 1759)". Home of Ichneumonoidea. Taxapad. Archived from the original on 24 March 2016.
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