''Eupithecia innotata'', the angle-barred 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 ...

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 ''metr ...

. The species was first described by

Johann Siegfried Hufnagel Johann Siegfried Hufnagel (17 October 1724, Falkenwalde, Prenzlau district, Brandenburg – 23 February 1795, Langenfeld, Sternberg district) was a German parson and entomologist (lepidopterist). Life Until the late 20th century nothing was known ...

in 1767. It ranges from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

in the west to western

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part o ...

and Central Asia in the east. There are three forms found in the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles (O ...

: * ''E. innotata sensu stricto'' (angle-barred pug) is found only on the east and south-east coasts * f. ''fraxinata'' (

ash pug The ash pug (''Eupithecia innotata'' f. ''fraxinata'', originally known by the binomial name ''Eupithecia fraxinata'', but now believed to be a form of ''Eupithecia innotata'') is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is widely distributed in th ...

) is widely distributed * rare f. ''tamarisciata'' (tamarisk pug) The forewings are generally dark brown or grey with few distinguishing marks apart from a small white tornal spot which may not be present on the frequent melanic forms. 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 ...

is 18–24 mm. Two

brood Brood may refer to: Nature * Brood, a collective term for offspring * Brooding, the incubation of bird eggs by their parents * Bee brood, the young of a beehive * Individual broods of North American Periodical Cicadas: ** Brood X, the largest br ...

s are produced each year with the adults flying in May and June and again in August. Moths of the spring brood are usually darker in colour than the later specimens. The larva is bright yellow-brown with brown and greenish markings, most strikingly a variety of large, brown-green spots along the back. It has numerous, small white warts all over the body. The

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larva, larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterfly, butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawfly ...

s of the three races have different food plants: * f. ''fraxinata'' feeding on

ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

* ''E. innotata sensu stricto'' feeding on sea-buckthorn * f. ''tamarisciata'' is found on the alien food plant

tamarisk The genus ''Tamarix'' (tamarisk, salt cedar, taray) is composed of about 50–60 species of flowering plants in the family Tamaricaceae, native to drier areas of Eurasia and Africa. The generic name originated in Latin and may refer to the Ta ...

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 their ...

References

* Chinery, Michael (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 ''The Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles (Macrolepidoptera)'' by Bernard Skinner is a single volume identification guide to the macromoths of Britain and Ireland published by Viking Books, often referred by moth recorde ...

''. *Waring, Paul; Townsend, Martin & Lewington, Richard (2003) ''Field Guide to the Moths of Great Britain and Ireland''. British Wildlife Publishing, Hook, UK. .

External links

*
''Lepiforum e.V.''
innotata Moths of Asia Moths of Europe Moths described in 1767 Taxa named by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel {{Eupithecia-stub