Lime-speck pug
| Lime-speck pug | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Geometridae |
| Genus: | Eupithecia |
| Species: | E. centaureata |
| Binomial name | |
| Eupithecia centaureata (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775)[1] | |
| Synonyms | |
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The lime-speck pug (Eupithecia centaureata) is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is a common species throughout the Palearctic region (where it is found in Europe, Central Asia, Mongolia, southern Siberia, eastern China (Guangdong) and Taiwan[2]), the Near East and North Africa.
Description
This is a distinctive species, all the wings being largely white except for a black blotch on the costa of the forewing. The wingspan is 20–24 mm. Often two broods are produced each year and the adults can be seen at any time during the summer and autumn. The species flies at night and is attracted to light and nectar-rich flowers.
The larva is rather variable but is usually green or yellow, often with red markings. It feeds on the flowers of a variety of plants (see list below). The species overwinters as a pupa.
Larval food plants
- Achillea – yarrow
- Angelica
- Arctium – burdock
- Artemisia
- Calluna – heather
- Campanula
- Centaurea
- Cirsium – thistle
- Crambe
- Filipendula – meadowsweet
- Galium – bedstraw
- Hieracium – hawkweed
- Lotus – bird's-foot trefoil
- Lysimachia – yellow loosestrife
- Matricaria – mayweed
- Medicago – alfalfa
- Pimpinella – burnet saxifrage
- Rumex – sorrel
- Selinum – milk-parsley
- Silene – bladder campion
- Solidago – goldenrod
- Tanacetum – tansy
- Trifolium – red clover
- Vicia – tufted vetch
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eupithecia centaureata. |
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Wikispecies has information related to: Lime-speck pug |
- 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)