Geometridae : Larentiinae
Marsh Pug
EUPITHECIA pygmaeata (Hübner,[1799])
Marsh Pug
EUPITHECIA pygmaeata (Hübner,[1799])
Life Cycle Guide
Description
Wingspan: 14 - 16mm
Worldwide Distribution: Europe - excluding south (Balearic Isles,Bulgaria,Channel Isles ,Canary Isles,Corsica,Crete,Croatia,Cyprus,Greece, Luxembourg,Madeira,Malta,Portugal,S Russia,Sardinia,Sicily,Slovenia,Switzerland and doubtful in Spain) : N America : Palearctic Region
UK Distribution: Scattered thinly on widely distributed sites in central and northern England,Scotland,parts of Ireland and Wales
UK Conservation Status -
Habitat: Marshy Ground : Wet Meadows : Fens : Breckland
Similar Species -
Pupa: Pupates among leaf litter
Overwinters as: Pupa
Observations: This small pug is dark brown with fine white speckling and a straight costa with pointed apex. There are various small white patches along the costa especially at the intersection with the postmedian line.
Fringes are chequered brown and white and terminal line is made up of a series of black dashes.
The moth can be seen flying early afternoon or when the sunshine opens the host plant flowers allowing this small pug to imbibe on the host plant flowers as seen below albeit, I believe the plant to be Common Mouse-ear.
Occasionally attracted to light.
Worldwide Distribution: Europe - excluding south (Balearic Isles,Bulgaria,Channel Isles ,Canary Isles,Corsica,Crete,Croatia,Cyprus,Greece, Luxembourg,Madeira,Malta,Portugal,S Russia,Sardinia,Sicily,Slovenia,Switzerland and doubtful in Spain) : N America : Palearctic Region
UK Distribution: Scattered thinly on widely distributed sites in central and northern England,Scotland,parts of Ireland and Wales
UK Conservation Status -
- Local = 101 - 300 10km squares
- Least Concern
- Geometra pygmaeata (Hübner,[1799])
- Phalaena absinthiata Clerck, 1759
- Europe
Habitat: Marshy Ground : Wet Meadows : Fens : Breckland
Similar Species -
- None
Pupa: Pupates among leaf litter
Overwinters as: Pupa
Observations: This small pug is dark brown with fine white speckling and a straight costa with pointed apex. There are various small white patches along the costa especially at the intersection with the postmedian line.
Fringes are chequered brown and white and terminal line is made up of a series of black dashes.
The moth can be seen flying early afternoon or when the sunshine opens the host plant flowers allowing this small pug to imbibe on the host plant flowers as seen below albeit, I believe the plant to be Common Mouse-ear.
Occasionally attracted to light.
Photo Gallery
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.
- Caryophyllaceae - Pink and Carnation Family
- Cerastium arvense - Field Mouse-ear
- Cerastium tomentosum - Snow in Summer
- Stellaria holostea - Greater Stitchwort
- Stellaria media - Chickweed
- Stellaria nemorum - Wood Stitchwort
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 - EUPITHECIA: Original Species Name: Species Names: Genus Names: Literary Ref: Type Locality: Subspecies: |
Animalia
Eumetozoa Arthropoda Hexapoda Insecta Lepidoptera Geometroidea Geometridae Larentiinae Eupitheciini EUPITHECIA Curtis, 1825 Eupithecia pygmaeata (Hübner,[1799]) - Phalaena absinthiata Clerck, 1759 - GEOMETRA pygmaeata (Hübner,[1799]) = Eupithecia pygmaearia Boisduval, 1840 = Eupithecia palustraria Doubleday, 1850 - EUPITHECIA Curtis, 1825 = Tephroclystia Hübner [1825] - Sammlung europäischer Schmetterlinge / errichtet von Jacob Hübner in Augsburg. By Hübner, Jacob, 1761-1826 : Lepidoptera V : Geometrae 11 : Pl.45 - n.234 - Europe - E. p. obumbrata Taylor, 1906 - British Columbia |