Eupithecia

Taxobox
name = "Eupithecia"

---

image_width = 240px
image_caption = "Eupithecia innotata"
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
classis = Insecta
ordo = Lepidoptera
familia = Geometridae
subfamilia = Larentiinae
genus = "Eupithecia"
genus_authority = Curtis, 1825
range_

range_map_width = 250px
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = See text.

"Eupithecia" is a large genus of moths of the family Geometridae. There are hundreds of described species, found in all parts of the world, and new species are discovered on a regular basis.

"Eupithecia" species form the bulk of the group commonly known as pugs. They are generally small with muted colours and specific identification can be difficult. As a group they are easily identified by their narrow wings held flat at 90° to the body with the hindwings almost hidden behind the forewings.

The larvae of many species feed on the flowers and seeds of their food plants rather than the foliage. Many species have a very specific food plant. Some Hawai'ian "Eupithecia" are predators of other insects ("E. orichloris, E. staurophragma, E. scoriodes"). They mimic twigs but when sensitive hairs on their backs are triggered, they quickly grab the insects touching them. The defensive behavior of snapping may have pre-adapted Hawai'i's ancestral "Eupithecia" for shifting to predation from feeding on pollen. Also, insect predators that behave in this way are lacking in Hawai'i's fauna.

44 species are resident in the British Isles:

* Slender Pug "(E. tenuiata)"
* Maple Pug "(E. inturbata)"
* Haworth's Pug "(E. haworthiata)"
* Lead-coloured Pug "(E. plumbeolata)"
* Cloaked Pug "(E. abietara)"
* Toadflax Pug "(E. linariata)"
* Foxglove Pug "(E. pulchellata)"
* Marbled Pug "(E. irriguata)"
* Mottled Pug "(E. exiguata)"
* Pinion-spotted Pug "(E. insigniata)"
* Valerian Pug "(E. valerianata)"
* Marsh Pug "(E. pygmaeata)"
* Netted Pug "(E. venosata)"
* Pauper Pug "(E. egenaria)"
* Lime-speck Pug "(E. centaureata)"
* Triple-spotted Pug "(E. trisignaria)"
* Freyer's Pug "(E. intricata)"
* Satyr Pug "(E. satyrata)"
* Wormwood Pug "(E. absinthiata)"
* Ling Pug "(E. goossensiata)"
* Currant Pug "(E. assimilata)"
* Bleached Pug "(E. expallidata)"
* Common Pug "(E. vulgata)"
* White-spotted Pug "(E. tripunctaria)"
* Campanula Pug "(E. denotata)"
* Grey Pug "(E. subfuscata)"
* Tawny Speckled Pug "(E. icterata)"
* Bordered Pug "(E. succenturiata)"
* Shaded Pug "(E. subumbrata)"
* Yarrow Pug "(E. millefoliata)"
* Plain Pug "(E. simpliciata)"
* Thyme Pug "(E. distinctaria)"
* Ochreous Pug "(E. indigata)"
* Pimpinel Pug "(E. pimpinellata)"
* Narrow-winged Pug "(E. nanata)"
* Scarce Pug "(E. extensaria)"
* Ash Pug "(E. fraxinata)"
* Golden-rod Pug "(E. virgaureata)"
* Brindled Pug "(E. abbreviata)"
* Oak-tree Pug "(E. dodoneata)"
* Juniper Pug "(E. pusillata)"
* Cypress Pug "(E. phoeniceata)"
* Larch Pug "(E. lariciata)"
* Dwarf Pug "(E. tantillaria)"

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

Montgomery, SL 1983. Carnivorous caterpillars: the behavior, biogeography and conservation of "Eupithecia" (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) in the Hawaiian Islands. "GeoJournal" 7 (6): 549-556. DOI: 10.1007/BF00218529