| | Insects of Britain and Ireland: the pug moths (Lepidoptera-Geometridae) |
E. dodonearia Morris
Oak-tree Pug.
Adults. Posterior tibiae of males 4-spurred. Wingspan 19–21 mm. Forewings not noticeably elongate; the outer margin convexly curved; the costa more or less straight to arched; apically blunt.
Forewings relatively conspicuously patterned; pale brownish-ochreous, more whitish in the disc, with bent, numerous rather dark fuscuous striae; the veins partially black-marked with small arrows, especially towards the edges of the slightly paler median band. Forewings with a dark discal mark. The discal mark slightly elongate (oval); posteriorly whitish-edged; black and distinct. Forewing fringes conspicuously chequered.
The termen of the hindwings slightly concave (but somewhat less so than in E. abbreviata); apex somewhat pointed to smoothly rounded into the costa; hindwings whitish-grey with dark grey striae; hindwings patterned similarly to the forewings to less conspicuously patterned than the forewings; hindwings conspicuously patterned; hindwings transversely striated (especially dorsally and postmedianly); hindwings with a clear discal mark (this very small, dark grey); fringes conspicuously chequered to not conspicuously chequered.
The abdomen conspicuously patterned, or plain; in the male with a black lateral streak.
Genitalia. The male abdominal plate in the form of a single sclerotized patch with a pair of apical extensions, or in the form of a single sclerotized patch with retuse apex (the prongs very short). The bursa copulatrix with ornamentation conspicuously restricted in distribution (dense, but anterior and distal only); conspicuously spiny (with small spines).
Early stages, ecology. Botanically rather specialised. Foodplants woody-dicotyledonous; Fagaceae and Rosaceae. The larvae found on oak (including Q. ilex) and hawthorn; feeding on flowers and leafy shoots.
Months of appearance, distribution. Adults abroad April, May, and June; larvae found June, July, and August. South-east England, Central-southern England, South-west England, English Midlands, Northern England, Wales, and Ireland (absent from Scotland, locally common elsewhere).
Special key characters. Forewings with small dark arrow-like markings pointing inwards from the postmedian line. Hindwings whitish, or pale ochreous, or pale grey.
Illustrations. • E. dodoneata (Oak-tree Pug), with larva: Barrett. Eupithecia dodoneata. 4, from oak; 4a, from hawthorn. 4b, larva. From Barrett, Plate 392. • E. denotata jaseoneata, E. tenuiata, E. inturbata, E. dodoneata and E. abbreviata, with larvae. Barrett. Eupithecia. 1, E. denotata jaseoneata; 2, E. tenuiata; 3, E. inturbata; 4, E. dodoneata; 5, E. abbreviata. Barrett, Plate 392 (1904). • E. dodoneata (Oak-tree Pug), with similar Pugs: South. • E. dodoneata (Oak-tree Pug), with other Pugs: Swain (5). 1, Eupithecia extensaria (Scarce Pug); 2a-b, E. innotata (Angle-barred Pug); 3, E. abbreviata (Brindled Pug); 4, E. innotata f. fraxinata (Ash Pug); 5, E. virgaureata (Golden-rod Pug; 6, E. pusillata (Juniper Pug); 7, E. dodoneata (Oak-tree Pug); 8, E. tantillaria (Dwarf Pug); 9, E. lariceata (Larch Pug). Adapted from Swain, 1961.
We advise against extracting comparative information from the descriptions. This is much more easily achieved using the DELTA data files or the interactive key, which allows access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, and distributions of character states within any set of taxa. See also Guidelines for using data taken from Web publications.
Cite this publication as: ‘Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2003 onwards. Insects of Britain and Ireland: the pug moths (Lepidoptera-Geometridae). Version: 27th July 2019. delta-intkey.com’.
