The tawny speckled pug (''Eupithecia icterata'') is a moth of the family Geometridae.

Subspecies and varietas

*''Eupithecia icterata icterata'' (Villers, 1789) *''Eupithecia icterata iranata'' Schutze, 1960 ( Iran) *''Eupithecia icterata'' f. ''Subfulvata'' (Haworth, 1809) *''Eupithecia icterata'' f. ''Cognata'' Stephens, 1831

Distribution

This species can be found throughout the

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...

region, the

Near East The ''Near East''; he, המזרח הקרוב; arc, ܕܢܚܐ ܩܪܒ; fa, خاور نزدیک, Xāvar-e nazdik; tr, Yakın Doğu is a geographical term which roughly encompasses a transcontinental region in Western Asia, that was once the hist ...

and North Africa. It occurs in large parts of Europe, but is absent in Portugal, in the northernmost part of Scandinavia, as well as on Iceland and some Mediterranean islands. In the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

it rises to an altitude of 3000 meters. In Asia it can be found in Turkey, the Caucasus, Iran, Kazakhstan and Western Siberia as far as the

Altai Mountains The Altai Mountains (), also spelled Altay Mountains, are a mountain range in Central Asia, Central and East Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan converge, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob River, Ob have their headwaters. The m ...

. There is also an occurrence in the

Atlas Mountains The Atlas Mountains are a mountain range in the Maghreb in North Africa. It separates the Sahara Desert from the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean; the name "Atlantic" is derived from the mountain range. It stretches around through Moroc ...

in North Africa.

Habitat

These moths prefer dry mountain meadows, forest edges and parks. It may be present ion areas with host plants on the edges of roads, fields, and bushes, semi-arid grasslands and loosely standing shrubbery and perennial herb fields with warm microclimate. Pieris Heiner Ziegle
Schmetterlinge der Schweiz

Description

''Eupithecia icterata'' can reach a wingspan of 20–24 mm. It is among the larger species in the genus.UK Moths
/ref> Unlike many pugs these moths are distinctively marked. They come in two color variants. In f. ''Subfulvata'', the basic color of the forewings is light gray to lead gray and shows a two-tone large clear tawny-orange triangular panel from the rear edge upwards, which does not, however, reach the front edge. A black spot stands out in the middle. The f. ''Cognata'' lacks this large field. In this variant the reddish area is a more variegated or indistinctly marbled, mixed with gray tones or the reddish area is completely absent. Some light, black-lined wavy lines stand out slightly. The hindwings of both forms are grayish brown, slightly lighter than the forewings and show a small black central spot. Moreover this species is rather similar to other species belonging to the genus Eupithecia. For example ''Eupithecia icterata f. Cognata'' is very similar to '' Eupithecia millefoliata'', but the last is usually paler in color and shows a smaller central spot on the forewings. The egg initially has a whitish color and later takes on yellowish tints. It has an oval shape and shows depressions in the shell sculpture that are bordered with strips. The adult larvae are slender and purple-gray to brown in color, with a dark diamond-shaped drawing on the back and a pale whitish line down each side.

Biology

''Eupithecia icterata'' is usually a single-brooded species ( univoltine species. It flies at night from June to September, is attracted to artificial light sources and occasionally it suckles on some flowers, for example on '' Eupatorium'' species. The caterpillars live in September and October. They usually feed on the

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

and flowers of yarrow and has also been recorded on ''

Artemisia Artemisia may refer to: People * Artemisia I of Caria (fl. 480 BC), queen of Halicarnassus under the First Persian Empire, naval commander during the second Persian invasion of Greece * Artemisia II of Caria (died 350 BC), queen of Caria under th ...

'' ('' Artemisia absinthium'', ''

Artemisia vulgaris ''Artemisia vulgaris'', the common mugwort, is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae. It is one of several species in the genus ''Artemisia'' commonly known as mugwort, although ''Artemisia vulgaris'' is the species most ...

'', ''

Artemisia campestris ''Artemisia campestris'' is a common and widespread species of plants in the sunflower family, Asteraceae. It is native to a wide region of Eurasia and North America. Common names include field wormwood, beach wormwood, northern wormwood, Breckl ...

''), ''

Achillea ptarmica ''Achillea ptarmica'' is a European species of herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the genus ''Achillea'' of the daisy family Asteraceae. Common names include the sneezewort, sneezeweed, bastard pellitory, European pellitory, fair-maid-of-Fr ...

'' and

tansy Tansy (''Tanacetum vulgare'') is a perennial, herbaceous flowering plant in the genus ''Tanacetum'' in the aster family, native to temperate Europe and Asia. It has been introduced to other parts of the world, including North America, and in ...

.Funet - Markku Savela's ''Lepidoptera and some other life forms''
/ref> The species overwinters as a pupa in a thin spin on the ground.Svenska fjärilar

Bibliography

* This article has been expanded using, inter alia, material based on a translation of an article from German Wikipedia, by the same name. *Antonova E.M. & L.V. Bolshakov - Geometrid Moths (Lepidoptera) of Tula Region. in Actias 2 (1-2): 13-32. 1995 *Chinery, Michael ''Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe'' 1986 (Reprinted 1991) *de Villers, C. (1789): Caroli Linnaei entomologia, faunae suecicae descriptionibus aucta; DD. Scopoli, Geoffroy, de Geer, Fabricii, Schrank, &c. speciebus vel in Systemate non enumeratis, vel nuperrime detectis, vel speciebus Galliae Australis locupleta, generum specierumque rariorum iconibus ornata. ''Tomus secundus''. iii-xvi + 1-656 + 6 pl. Paris (Piestre et Delamilliere). *Kostjuk, I.Yu in Efetov, K.A. & Yu.I.Budashkin - Geometridae. In: Baboshki Krima - The Lepidoptera of Crimea. in Simferopol, 111 pp.: 86-92. 1990 *Mironov, V. - The Geometrid Moths of Europe, vol. 4 (Larentiinae: Perizomini & Eupitheciini). in Apollo Books, Stenstrup, 464 pp. & 16 color pls. 2003 *Mironov, V. - The Geometrid Moths of Europe, vol. 4 (Larentiinae: Perizomini & Eupitheciini). in Apollo Books, Stenstrup, 464 pp. & 16 color pls. 2003

References

Eupithecia Moths described in 1789 Moths of Europe Moths of Asia Moths of Africa Taxa named by Charles Joseph Devillers {{Eupithecia-stub