''Eupithecia valerianata'', the valerian pug, 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 Jacob Hübner in 1813. It is found from

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

, through central Europe to western

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

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and northern

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

.''Eupithecia valerianata'' full description
Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2003 onwards. British insects: the genera of Lepidoptera-Geometridae. Version: 29 December 2011 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 16–20 mm. The ground colour of the forewings is glossy brownish grey. The darker-coloured crosslines are faint. There is a pale, dentate subterminal line (sometimes incomplete). The forewings have a dark discal mark (sometimes grey, indistinct or absent). The hindwings are pale whitish brown and there is a tornal spot.Prout, L. B. (1912–16). Geometridae. In A. Seitz (ed.) ''The Macrolepidoptera of the World''. The Palaearctic Geometridae, 4. 479 pp. Alfred Kernen, Stuttgar
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The larva is long and slender, smooth and light green with darker green longitudinal stripes. There is one generation per year with adults on wing from mid-April to August. ''Eupithecia valerianata'' inhabits wet meadows, ditch edges, forest edges and other locations where ''Valeriana'' species grow. The larvae feed on ''

Valeriana ''Valeriana'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Caprifoliaceae, members of which may by commonly known as valerians. It contains many species, including the garden valerian, ''Valeriana officinalis''. Species are native to all continen ...

'' species. Larvae can be found from June to September. It overwinters as a pupa.

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*
''Lepiforum e.V.''
Moths described in 1813 valerianata Moths of Europe Moths of Asia Taxa named by Jacob Hübner {{Eupithecia-stub

Similar species

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