Geometridae : Larentiinae
Bilberry Pug
PASIPHILA debiliata (Hübner, [1817])
Bilberry Pug
PASIPHILA debiliata (Hübner, [1817])
Kind permission - © Tim Norriss
Life Cycle Guide
Description
Wingspan: 17-19mm
Worldwide Distribution: Europe - excluding (Azores,Balearic Is.,Bulgaria,Canary Is.,Channel Is.,Corsica,Crete,Cyprus,Madeira,Malta,
Portugal,Sardinia & Sicily) : eastwards to S Siberia,Amur & Japan
UK Distribution: Restricted to the most southernmost counties ,Midlands,Monmouthshire,Pembrokeshire & N Wales. In England main areas are S Devon,New Forest,Hampshire, heaths of Surrey and Berkshire & the Wyre Forest.
UK Conservation Status -
Habitat: Mixed Open Woodland : Heathland : Moorland
Similar Species -
Overwintering as an egg the larva hatches about mid April and develops rapidly feeding on the terminal leaves of Bilberry cut and shut together with silk,with dark frasse being the presence indicator, as seen in photo 1. Larva is fully developed by the end of May,see other larval photos.
Larvae feed after dark.
Pupa: Pupates in loose soil or among host plants
Overwinters as: Ovum
Observations: Like others members of the Pasphila genus this pug has deep rounded wings with and arched costa and tends to be lighter in colour with less intense markings than the related species.
Freshly emerged specimens are a delicate pale lime green,which fades to brown in time, with central black spot on the forewing which may initially confuse it with the Green Pug.The antemdian and postmedian lines are made up of a series of dots and dashes & the hindwing is whitish grey. Often found flying from dusk onwards among the host plants. Moth is attracted to light sometimes appearing in good numbers.
Worldwide Distribution: Europe - excluding (Azores,Balearic Is.,Bulgaria,Canary Is.,Channel Is.,Corsica,Crete,Cyprus,Madeira,Malta,
Portugal,Sardinia & Sicily) : eastwards to S Siberia,Amur & Japan
UK Distribution: Restricted to the most southernmost counties ,Midlands,Monmouthshire,Pembrokeshire & N Wales. In England main areas are S Devon,New Forest,Hampshire, heaths of Surrey and Berkshire & the Wyre Forest.
UK Conservation Status -
- Nationally Scarce B (Nb - BAP : 1997) = 31 - 100 10Km Squares
- Least Concern
- Geometra debiliata (Hübner, [1817])
- Eupithecia bilineolata Walker, 1862
- Europe
Habitat: Mixed Open Woodland : Heathland : Moorland
Similar Species -
- Green Pug - Pasiphila rectangulata - (Linnaeus, 1758)
Overwintering as an egg the larva hatches about mid April and develops rapidly feeding on the terminal leaves of Bilberry cut and shut together with silk,with dark frasse being the presence indicator, as seen in photo 1. Larva is fully developed by the end of May,see other larval photos.
Larvae feed after dark.
Pupa: Pupates in loose soil or among host plants
Overwinters as: Ovum
Observations: Like others members of the Pasphila genus this pug has deep rounded wings with and arched costa and tends to be lighter in colour with less intense markings than the related species.
Freshly emerged specimens are a delicate pale lime green,which fades to brown in time, with central black spot on the forewing which may initially confuse it with the Green Pug.The antemdian and postmedian lines are made up of a series of dots and dashes & the hindwing is whitish grey. Often found flying from dusk onwards among the host plants. Moth is attracted to light sometimes appearing in good numbers.
Photo Gallery
Larvae
Pupa
Larval Food Plants Worldwide
Note - Plants hyperlinked in red below take the visitor to the relevant plant page on"Plants for a Future" website where further information like photos,physical characteristics,habitats,edible uses,medicinal uses,cultivation,propagation,range,height etc. are clearly listed.
Plant Families - in bold red below takes the visitor to the relevant "Lepi-plants" page where other butterflies & moths using the plants below are listed.
Plant Families - in bold red below takes the visitor to the relevant "Lepi-plants" page where other butterflies & moths using the plants below are listed.
- Ericaceae - Heather Family
- Vaccinium myrtilus - Bilberry
- Vaccinium uliginosum - Bog Bilberry
Larval Food Plants
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Taxonomy
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Kingdom:
Subkingdom: Phylum: Subphylum: Class: Order: Superfamily: Family: Subfamily: Tribe: Genus: Accepted Species Name: Type Species - PASIPHILA: Original Species Name: Species Names: Literary Ref: Type Locality: Forms: |
Animalia
Eumetozoa Arthropoda Hexapoda Insecta Lepidoptera Geometroidea Geometridae Larentiinae Eupitheciini PASIPHILA Warren 1895 Pasiphila debiliata (Hübner, [1817]) - Eupithecia bilineolata Walker, 1862 - GEOMETRA debiliata (Hübner, [1817]) = Rhinoprora debiliata Hübner, 1817 = Geometra debiliata Hübner, [1817] = Eupithecia nigropunctata Chant, 1833 = Eupithecia clerci Krulikovsky, 1891 = Chloroclystis suspiciosa Inoue, 1982 = Chloroclystis debiliata - Sammlung europäischer Schmetterlinge / errichtet von Jacob Hübner in Augsburg. By Hübner, Jacob, 1761-1826 : Lepidoptera V : Geometrae 11 : Pl. 90. n.462 - Europe - P.d.f.nigropunctata Chant, 1833 - traverse lines made up of dark points P.d.f.mediofasciata Dietze, 1913 - median area darker P.d.f.obscurevirescens Lempke, 1950 - background dark green |