Eupithecia tantillaria

Eupithecia tantillaria, the dwarf pug, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It was described by Jean Baptiste Boisduval in 1840. The species can be found in the Palearctic realm.

Eupithecia tantillaria
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Geometridae
Genus: Eupithecia
Species:
E. tantillaria
Binomial name
Eupithecia tantillaria
Synonyms
  • Eupithecia calabrica Dietze, 1910
  • Eupithecia laricis Speyer, 1873

Distribution

The distribution ranges from western Europe and the British Isles east to the Ukraine, Georgia, Russia, Russian Far East and the Altai Mountains. In Fennoscandia it reaches Sápmi, it is still lacking on Iceland. The southern range includes Italy, the Balkans, Turkey, Asia Minor and the Caucasus. It is lacking, however, in the south and in the centre of Spain, in Portugal and the Mediterranean islands. In the Alps it rises up to the tree line.

Description

The wingspan is 16–19 millimetres (0.63–0.75 in). The ground colour of the forewings is light grey. There is a distinct, usually stretched discal spot and dark grey to brownish wavy crosslines, which continue on the rear wings. There are darker patches along the costal edge of the forewing, a paler white sub-marginal line and a chequered wing fringe. The hindwings are pale white with brown crosslines and a small black discal spot. Both forewings and hindwings are narrow. Darkened specimens with less distinctive pattern occur.[2]

The moths flies from April to July depending on the location.

The caterpillars feed on Norway spruce and also other Pinophyta species, such as fir, European larch and Juniperus communis.

Subspecies
  • Eupithecia tantillaria tantillaria
  • Eupithecia tantillaria piceata Prout, 1915

References
  1. Yu, Dicky Sick Ki. "Eupithecia tantillaria Boisduval 1840". Home of Ichneumonoidea. Taxapad. Archived from the original on March 25, 2016.
  2. Eupithecia tantillaria full description Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2003 onwards. "British Insects: Pug moths (Lepidoptera-Geometridae)". Retrieved 17 February 2018.


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