Common Pug

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Common Pug
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Lepidoptera Family: Geometridae Genus: Eupithecia Species: E. vulgata
Binomial name
Eupithecia vulgata Haworth, 1809

The Common Pug (Eupithecia vulgata) is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is a common species across the Palearctic region, the Near East and North Africa.

This is a quite variable species across its range but the typical form has orange-brown forewings marked with pale fascia with pale grey hindwings with darker margins. The wingspan is 18-21 mm. Two broods are produced each year with adults on the wing in May and June and again in August ^[1]. The species flies at night and is attracted to light.

The larva feeds on a variety of plants (see list below). The species overwinters as a pupa.

1. ^  The flight season refers to the British Isles. This may vary in other parts of the range.

[edit] Recorded food plants

• Achillea - Yarrow
• Artemisia
• Campanula - Harebell
• Centaurea
• Crataegus - Hawthorn
• Galium - Bedstraw
• Salix - Willow
• Senecio - Ragwort
• Solidago - Goldenrod
• Vaccinium - Bilberry

[edit] Subspecies

• E. v. cyrneata
• E. v. vulgata

[edit] References

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