Grey pug

The grey pug (Eupithecia subfuscata) is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found throughout the Palearctic region. It is also found in North America. Since it does not place any special demands on climatic conditions, special caterpillar food plants, geological subsoil or the like it is a typical species of almost any Hochstaudenflur (plant corridor), where it occurs in the herb layer, in bushes and even on deciduous trees. It can be found on forest edges and hedgerows, on heath, in rocky places and wetlands, parks and gardens, as well as in villages and town centres.

Grey pug
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Geometridae
Genus:	Eupithecia
Species:	E. subfuscata
Binomial name
Eupithecia subfuscata (Haworth, 1809)[1]
Synonyms
List Eupithecia blancheata Cooke, 1881 Eupithecia castigaria Boisduval, 1840 Geometra castigata Hubner, 1813 Eupithecia castigata Eupithecia compressata Guenée, 1858 Eupithecia implicata Walker, 1862 Tephroclystia latipennis Hulst, 1898 Eupithecia latipennis Eupithecia ichinosawana Matsumura, 1925 Eupithecia latimarginata Matsumura, 1925

Subspecies

There are two subspecies:

• Eupithecia subfuscata subfuscata
• Eupithecia subfuscata ussuriensis Dietze 1910 (Russian Far East, Japan)

Eupithecia subfuscata Bury Ditches, England, May 2014

Description

The forewings of this species are grey (occasionally with an ochreous tinge) marked with pale fascia and radial lines which give it a mottled appearance. There is a pale sub-marginal line and a small discal spot. The hindwings are much paler and plainer also with a small black discal spot.^[2] Melanism is quite common in this species. The wingspan is 17–21 mm. See also Prout ^{[3][4][5] [6]}

Larvae after final moult & enlarged detail of segments

Final instar larvae are smooth and elongated. They are grey-green or red-brown coloured and show a grey-green to dark olive-green diamond-like pattern on the back. The side edges are whitish.The pupa is yellow-brown with greenish wing sheaths. At the cremaster there are six hook bristles, the middle pair of which is more powerfully formed.

Male genitalia

Similar species

• Eupithecia virgaureata
• Eupithecia lariciata

A safe determination is usually only possible by means of a genital morphological examination.

Biology

The adults fly in May and June with a second brood sometimes emerging in August. The species flies at night and is attracted to light.

The species overwinters as a pupa.

Larval food plants

The larva feeds on the leaves and flowers of a wide range of plants.^{[citation needed]}

• Abies – fir
• Achillea
• Aegopodium – ground-elder
• Alnus – alder
• Angelica
• Artemisia
• Betula – birch
• Centaurea
• Cirsium – creeping thistle
• Comptonia – sweetfern
• Epilobium – willowherb
• Filipendula – meadowsweet
• Galium – bedstraw
• Hypericum – St John's wort
• Larix – larch
• Lysimachia – yellow loosestrife
• Malus – apple
• Ononis – restharrow
• Picea – black spruce
• Populus – poplar
• Rubus – raspberry
• Salix – willow
• Scabiosa
• Solidago – goldenrod
• Tanacetum – tansy
• Urtica – nettle
• Valeriana – valerian