Freyer's pug

Freyer's pug (Eupithecia intricata) is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species can be found in Europe (including Russia), east to the Urals, the Russian Far East, Kazakhstan and China. It is also found in North America.

Caterpillar of subspecies Eupithecia intricata taylorata

Freyer's pug
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Geometridae
Genus: Eupithecia
Species:
E. intricata
Binomial name
Eupithecia intricata
Synonyms
  • Larentia intricata Zetterstedt, 1839
  • Eupithecia helveticaria Boisduval, 1840
  • Larentia arceuthata Freyer, 1841
  • Eupithecia anglicata Milliere, 1870
  • Eupithecia chagnonii Swett, 1911
  • Eupithecia gibsonata Taylor, 1910
  • Eupithecia pfeifferi Wehrli, 1929[2][3]

The wingspan is 20–24 mm. The length of the forewings is 12–13 mm. The ground colour is grey or brownish grey. The forewing has numerous crosslines, a short line represents the discal forewing spot. There is a clear spot on the hindwings. The second segment of the abdomen has a dark brown colour.Final stage larvae are smooth and elongated . They are grass-green, teal or yellow-green and have white laterodorsal lines and also white side stripes. They thus resemble the needles of their main food plant, the common juniper and are therefore difficult for predators to recognize.

The species primarily colonizes heathlands,sparse meadows, light pine forests as well as parks and gardens, but can also be found in built-up urban areas as well as in cemeteries. In the Alps, the species rises to heights of 2600 metres.

The moths fly in one generation from May to June.

The caterpillars feed on Cupressus and Juniperus species.

Subspecies

There are a number of recognised subspecies:

  • Eupithecia intricata intricata
  • Eupithecia intricata arceuthata (Freyer, 1841) Central Europe
  • Eupithecia intricata hibernica Mere, 1964 Burren, Ireland
  • Eupithecia intricata millieraria Wnukowsky, 1929
  • Eupithecia intricata taylorata Swett, 1907 (common name: Taylor's cedar looper) Nearctic (U.S.A)

Etymology

The common name honours Christian Friedrich Freyer.

Similar species

  • Eupithecia satyrata ash-grey, very small discoidal spot, light grey abdomen, which lacks a dark brown segment.

References

  1. Yu, Dicky Sick Ki. "Eupithecia intricata (Zetterstedt 1839)". Home of Ichneumonoidea. Taxapad. Archived from the original on March 24, 2016.
  2. Mironov, Vladimir (26 September 2013). "New species and checklist of Turkish Eupithecia Curtis (Geometridae: Larentiinae)". Zootaxa. 3717 (1). doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3717.1.3. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  3. Koçak, Ahmet Ömer; Kemal, Muhabbet (July 2018). "A synonymous and distributional list of the species of the Lepidoptera of Turkey". Memoirs. Centre for Entomological Studies Ankara. 8. ISSN 1015-8227. Retrieved 18 January 2023.


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