Mottled pug

The mottled pug (Eupithecia exiguata) 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.

Mottled pug
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Geometridae
Genus: Eupithecia
Species:
E. exiguata
Binomial name
Eupithecia exiguata
(Hübner, 1813)[1]
Synonyms
  • Geometra exiguata Hubner, 1813
  • Eupithecia lanceolaria Wood, 1854
  • Eupithecia ochreata Stephens, 1831
  • Phalaena trimaculata Haworth, 1809

The wingspan is 20–22 mm and the long and pointed forewings are brown or yellowish grey marked with pale radial lines and a large, somewhat oval black discal spot. The most characteristic markings are the strong black dashes on the radial and median veins where they cross the postmedian band The hindwings are cream or grey also with a discal spot. The larva is green with lozenge-shaped red dorsal spots.[2]

Larva.Mariandyrys, North Wales.

The species flies at night in May and June and is attracted to light, sometimes in large numbers.

The larva feeds on the foliage of various trees and shrubs (see list below). The species overwinters as a pupa.

Subspecies
  • Eupithecia exiguata exiguata
  • Eupithecia exiguata muricolor Prout, 1938

Recorded food plants

References
  1. Yu, Dicky Sick Ki. "Eupithecia exiguata (Hubner 1813)". Home of Ichneumonoidea. Taxapad. Archived from the original on 24 March 2016.
  2. Prout, L. B. (1912–16). Geometridae. In A. Seitz (ed.) The Macrolepidoptera of the World. The Palaearctic Geometridae, 4. 479 pp. Alfred Kernen, Stuttgart.pdf Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  • 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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