The wormwood pug (''Eupithecia absinthiata'') is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

of the family

Geometridae The geometer moths are moths belonging to the family Geometridae of the insect order Lepidoptera, the moths and butterflies. Their scientific name derives from the Ancient Greek ''geo'' γεω (derivative form of or "the earth"), and ''metro ...

. The species was first described by

Carl Alexander Clerck Carl Alexander Clerck (1709 – 22 July 1765) was a Swedish entomologist and arachnologist. Clerck came from a family in the petty nobility and entered the University of Uppsala in 1726. Little is known of his studies; although a contemporary of ...

in 1759. It is a common species across the Palearctic region as well as North America. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan o ...

is 21–23 mm and the forewings are warm brown with two black spots along the

costa Costa may refer to: Biology * Rib (Latin: ''costa''), in vertebrate anatomy * Costa (botany), the central strand of a plant leaf or thallus * Costa (coral), a stony rib, part of the skeleton of a coral * Costa (entomology), the leading edge of th ...

with a black discal spot completing a distinctive triangle. There is a pale narrow line near the fringe with a distinct whitish spot near the tornus, although this is not as prominent as in the rather similar

currant pug The currant pug (''Eupithecia assimilata'') is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Henry Doubleday in 1856. It is found across the Nearctic and Palearctic regions .Its occurrence extends eastwards to the Near E ...

. The hindwings are greyish brown.ab. ''obscura'' Dietze (Kassimov, Central Russia) is much darker, the forewing described as sepia-coloured. Prout, L. B. (1912–16). Geometridae. In A. Seitz (ed.) ''The Macrolepidoptera of the World''. The Palaearctic Geometridae, 4. 479 pp. Alfred Kernen, Stuttgar
pdf *
/ref> Adult larvae are smooth and elongated. They adapt to the basic colour of the respective food plant and are accordingly greenish, cream-colored or brownish colored and usually show a reddish-brown diamond-like pattern on the back. Sometimes light green, almost imarked specimens also appear. The yellow-brown pupa is provided with greenish wing sheaths. At the cremaster there are eight hook bristles, the middle pair of which is strongly formed. ''Eupithecia absinthiata'' requires examination of a genital preparation for certain identification. The species flies at night in June and July and is attracted to light. As the name suggests, the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

feeds on the

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s of

mugwort Mugwort is a common name for several species of aromatic flowering plants in the genus '' Artemisia.'' In Europe, mugwort most often refers to the species ''Artemisia vulgaris'', or common mugwort. In East Asia the species ''Artemisia argyi'' is ...

(which is sometimes called "common wormwood"), but it will also feed on the flowers of a range of other plants (see list below). The species overwinters as a

pupa A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in thei ...

Larval food plants

*''

Achillea ''Achillea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, known colloquially as yarrows. The plants typically have frilly leaves. The common name "yarrow" usually refers to '' A. millefolium''. The genus was named after the Gre ...

'' *'' Aconitum'' *'' Artemisia'' *'' Aster'' *''

Calluna ''Calluna vulgaris'', common heather, ling, or simply heather, is the sole species in the genus ''Calluna'' in the flowering plant family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing evergreen shrub growing to tall, or rarely to and taller, and is found ...

'' – heather *''

Cirsium ''Cirsium'' is a genus of perennial and biennial flowering plants in the Asteraceae, one of several genera known commonly as thistles. They are more precisely known as plume thistles. These differ from other thistle genera (''Carduus'', '' Sily ...

'' – creeping thistle *''

Erica Erica or ERICA may refer to: * Erica (given name) * ''Erica'' (plant), a flowering plant genus * Erica (chatbot), a service of Bank of America * ''Erica'' (video game), a 2019 FMV video game * ''Erica'' (spider), a jumping spider genus * E ...

'' *''

Eupatorium ''Eupatorium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, containing from 36 to 60 species depending on the classification system. Most are herbaceous perennials growing to tall. A few are shrubs. The genus is native to temperat ...

'' *''

Pimpinella ''Pimpinella'' is a plant genus in the family Apiaceae; it includes the aromatic herb anise ''( P. anisum)''.Senecio ''Senecio'' is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family (Asteraceae) that includes ragworts and groundsels. Variously circumscribed taxonomically, the genus ''Senecio'' is one of the largest genera of flowering plants. Description Mor ...

'' *''

Solidago ''Solidago'', commonly called goldenrods, is a genus of about 100 to 120''Solidago''.
F ...

'' – goldenrod *''

Tanacetum ''Tanacetum'' is a genus of about 160 species of flowering plants in the aster family, Asteraceae, native to many regions of the Northern Hemisphere.

'' *''

Tripleurospermum ''Tripleurospermum'' is a genus in the chamomile tribe within the sunflower family. Mayweed is a common name for plants in this genus. Most of the species are from Europe and temperate Asia although a few are from North America and North Afri ...

'' – Mayweed

Similar species

*''

Eupithecia assimilata The currant pug (''Eupithecia assimilata'') is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Henry Doubleday in 1856. It is found across the Nearctic and Palearctic regions .Its occurrence extends eastwards to the Near E ...

''. *''

Eupithecia expallidata ''Eupithecia expallidata'', the bleached pug, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found in North-West and Central Russia, South-East Scandinavia to the North Mediterranean and West Europe including the British Isles. The wingspan is 20� ...

References

Chinery, Michael Michael Chinery (born 1938, in London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-e ...

(1986, reprinted 1991). ''Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe''. * Skinner, Bernard (1984). '' The Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles''.

External links

*
''Fauna Europaea''''Lepiforum e.V.''
{{Taxonbar , from=Q2415025 Eupithecia Moths described in 1759 Moths of Asia Moths of Europe Moths of North America Taxa named by Carl Alexander Clerck