Wormwood pug

Eupithecia absinthiata wormwood pug
form goossensiata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Geometridae
Genus:	Eupithecia
Species:	E. absinthiata
Binomial name
Eupithecia absinthiata (Clerck, 1759)
Synonyms
Phalaena absinthiata Clerck, 1759 Eupithecia callunae Speyer, 1867 Eupithecia coagulata Guenee, 1857 Phalaena elongata Haworth, 1809 Eupithecia elongata Eupithecia geminata Packard, 1873 Eupithecia goossensiata Mabille, 1869 Eupithecia knautiata Gregson, 1874 Eupithecia meritata Pearsall, 1908 Geometra minutata Denis & Schiffermuller, 1775 Eupithecia minutata Eupithecia notata Stephens, 1831 Eupithecia packardata Taylor, 1907 Eupithecia catharinae Vojnits, 1969

The wormwood pug (Eupithecia absinthiata) is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is a common species across the Palearctic region and the Near East, as well as North America.

The wingspan is 21–23 mm and the forewings are warm brown with two black spots along the costa with a black discal spot completing a distinctive triangle. There is a narrow pale line near the fringe with a distinct whitish spot near the tornus, although this is not as prominent as in the rather similar currant pug. The hindwings are greyish brown. The species flies at night in June and July and is attracted to light.

As the name suggests, the larva feeds on the flowers of mugwort (which is sometimes called "common wormwood"), but it will also feed on the flowers of a range of other plants (see list below). The species overwinters as a pupa.

Recorded food plants

• Achillea
• Aconitum
• Artemisia
• Aster
• Calluna - Heather
• Cirsium - Creeping thistle
• Erica
• Eupatorium
• Pimpinella - Burnet-saxifrage
• Senecio
• Solidago - Goldenrod
• Tanacetum
• Tripleurospermum - Mayweed

References

• 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)