Grey pug

Eupithecia subfuscata grey pug
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Geometridae
Genus:	Eupithecia
Species:	E. subfuscata
Binomial name
Eupithecia subfuscata (Haworth, 1809)[1]
Synonyms
Eupithecia blancheata Cooke, 1881 Eupithecia castigaria Boisduval, 1840 Geometra castigata Hubner, 1813 Eupithecia castigata Eupithecia compressata Guenee, 1858 Eupithecia implicata Walker, 1862 Tephroclystia latipennis Hulst, 1898 Eupithecia latipennis Eupithecia ichinosawana Matsumura, 1925 Eupithecia latimarginata Matsumura, 1925

The grey pug (Eupithecia subfuscata) is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found throughout the Palearctic region and the Near East. It is also found in North America.

The forewings of this species are grey (ccasionally with an ochreous tinge) marked with pale fascia and radial lines which give it a mottled appearance.There is a pale sub-marginal line and a small discal spot.The hindwings are much paler and plainer also with a small black discal spot.^[2] Melanism is quite common in this species. The wingspan is 17–21 mm.

The adults fly in May and June with a second brood sometimes emerging in August. The species flies at night and is attracted to light.

The larva feeds on the leaves and flowers of a wide range of plants (see list below). The species overwinters as a pupa.

Subspecies

• Eupithecia subfuscata subfuscata
• Eupithecia subfuscata ussuriensis Dietze 1910 (Russian Far East, Japan)

Larval food plants

• Abies – fir
• Achillea
• Aegopodium – ground-elder
• Alnus – alder
• Angelica
• Artemisia
• Betula – birch
• Centaurea
• Cirsium – creeping thistle
• Comptonia – sweetfern
• Epilobium – willowherb
• Filipendula – meadowsweet
• Galium – bedstraw
• Hypericum – St John's wort
• Larix – larch
• Lysimachia – yellow loosestrife
• Malus – apple
• Ononis – restharrow
• Picea – black spruce
• Populus – poplar
• Rubus – raspberry
• Salix – willow
• Scabiosa
• Solidago – goldenrod
• Tanacetum – tansy
• Urtica – nettle
• Valeriana – valerian

References

1. Taxapad
2. Eupithecia subfuscata full description Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2003 onwards. British insects: the genera of Lepidoptera-Geometridae. Version: 29th December 2011

• 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