| | Insects of Britain and Ireland: the pug moths (Lepidoptera-Geometridae) |
Eucymatoge subnotata Hübner, E. subnotaria Boisduval
Plain Pug.
Adults. Posterior tibiae of males 4-spurred. Wingspan 23–26 mm. Forewings not noticeably elongate; the outer margin convexly curved; the costa arched; apically blunt to somewhat pointed.
Forewings dingy; light ochreous-brown, sometimes whitish-mixed, with indistinct, curved fuscous striae; the postmedian fascia rather conspicuous by its curved pale edges, the out one of which is is zig-zagged towards the tornus. Forewings with a dark discal mark. The discal mark dot-like; not whitish-edged; black and distinct. Forewing fringes somewhat chequered.
Hindwings whitish-grey, darkened dorsally and postmedianly; patterned similarly to the forewings to less conspicuously patterned than the forewings; conspicuously patterned to rather plain; very faintly transversely striated; without a clear discal mark (or this very obscure); the fringes not conspicuously chequered.
The abdomen crested throughout; neither ringed nor banded nor white-based (?).
Neuration. Vein 10 of the forewings arising independently, anastomosing with 11 and 9 to form a double areole.
Genitalia. The male abdominal plate in the form of a single sclerotized patch with retuse apex. The bursa copulatrix with ornamentation conspicuously restricted in distribution (over the distal 3/4); fairly coarsely, conspicuously spiny.
Early stages, ecology. Botanically specialised. Foodplants herbaceous-dicotyledonous; Chenopodiaeae. The larvae found on Atriplex and Chenopodium; feeding on flowers and seeds.
Months of appearance, distribution. Adults abroad mid June to August; larvae found August and September. South-east England, Central-southern England, South-west England, English Midlands, Northern England, Southern Scotland, and Wales (locally common south of Cheshire and south Yorkshire, in Wales known only from Cardiganshire, rare and local in Ireland).
Special key characters. Hindwings whitish, fuscous, pale grey, and grey.
Illustrations. • E. simpliciata (Plain Pug), with larva: Barret. Eupithecia simpliciata. 6, male; 6a, female; 6b, larva. From Barrett, Plate 390. • E. intricata arceuthata, E. intricata millieraria, E. plumbeolata, E. satyrata and E. haworthiata, with larvae: Barrett. Eupithecia. 1, E. intricata millieraria; 1a, E. intricata arceuthata. 2, E. satyrata with varieties. 3, E. plumbeolata. 4, E. haworthiata. Barrett Plate 389 (1904). • E. simpliciata (Plain Pug), with similar pugs: South. • E. simpliciata (as subnotata), with 9 other pugs illustrated by Hubner (1790–1817). • E. simpliciata (Plain Pug), with other Pugs: Swain. 1a, Eupithecia icterata oxydata (Tawny-speckled Pug); 1b, E. icterata subfulvata (Tawny-speckled Pug); 1c, E. icterata cognata (Tawny-speckled Pug); 2, E. subumbrata (Shaded Pug); 3, E. succentureata (Bordered Pug); 4, E. millefoliata (Yarrow Pug); 5, E. distinctaria (Thyme Pug); 6, E. simpliciata (Plain Pug); 7, E. indigata (Ochreous Pug); 8, E. pimpinellata (Pimpinel Pug); 9a-b, E. nanata (Narrow-winged Pug). Adapted from Swain, 1961.
We advise against extracting comparative information from the descriptions. This is much more easily achieved using the DELTA data files or the interactive key, which allows access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, and distributions of character states within any set of taxa. See also Guidelines for using data taken from Web publications.
Cite this publication as: ‘Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2003 onwards. Insects of Britain and Ireland: the pug moths (Lepidoptera-Geometridae). Version: 27th July 2019. delta-intkey.com’.
