Golden-rod pug

The goldenrod pug (Eupithecia virgaureata) is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Henry Doubleday in 1861. It is found throughout the Palearctic region and parts of the Near East. In the British Isles it is widespread but rather locally distributed.

Larva

Goldenrod pug
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Geometridae
Genus: Eupithecia
Species:
E. virgaureata
Binomial name
Eupithecia virgaureata
Synonyms
  • Eupithecia notata Dietze, 1913
  • Eupithecia offirmata Speyer, 1869

The ground colour of the forewings is pale grey brownish or fuscous, occasionally with an ochreous tinge, darker along the costa, and are marked with distinctive pale fascia and a whitish tornal spot. The forewing patterning is dominated by a conspicuous, dark discal and smaller costal spots. The obtusely angulated dark grey striae are not defined except on the costa. There is a pale interrupted subterminal line. Melanic forms are quite frequent. The wingspan is 17–20 mm.[2]

Two broods are produced each year with the moths flying in May and June and again in August.

The larva feeds on the flowers of goldenrod and ragwort. The species overwinters as a pupa.

Subspecies
  • Eupithecia virgaureata virgaureata
  • Eupithecia virgaureata alternaria Staudinger, 1897
  • Eupithecia virgaureata invisa Butler, 1878

References
  1. Yu, Dicky Sick Ki. "Eupithecia virgaureata Doubleday 1861". Home of Ichneumonoidea. Taxapad. Archived from the original on 13 September 2017.
  2. Eupithecia virgaureata full description Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2003 onwards. British insects: the genera of Lepidoptera-Geometridae. Version: 29 December 2011
  • Chinery, Michael Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe 1986 (Reprinted 1991)
  • Skinner, Bernard Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles 1984
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