| | Insects of Britain and Ireland: the pug moths (Lepidoptera-Geometridae) |
Begrandaria Boisduval, plumbeolaria Doubleday
Lead-coloured Pug.
Adults. Posterior tibiae of males 4-spurred. Wingspan 17–20 mm. Forewings not noticeably elongate; the outer margin convexly curved; the costa more or less straight; apically somewhat pointed.
Forewings dingy; pale grey, sometimes ochreous-tinged, with obscure curved (not angled) darker grey striae, fasciae obscure; subterminal line inconspicuous, the fringe only inconspicuously chequered. Forewings with a dark discal mark to without a discal mark (more or less obsolete). The discal mark dot-like; if present, grey, indistinct. Forewings without a tornal spot. Forewing fringes somewhat chequered.
Hindwings similarly coloured to or paler than the forewings; even less conspicuously patterned than the forewings; rather plain; faintly transversely striated; without a clear discal mark; the fringes not conspicuously chequered.
The abdomen plain; neither ringed nor banded nor white-based; laterally neither black-streaked nor black-spotted.
Genitalia. The male abdominal plate in the form of two separate sclerotized components. The bursa copulatrix with ornamentation conspicuously restricted in distribution (smooth over the distal third); conspicuously spiny to only inconspicuously spiny (with small spines).
Early stages, ecology. Botanically specialised. Foodplants herbaceous-dicotyledonous; Scrophulariaceae. The larvae found on Melampyrum, Rhinanthus and (in captivity) Euphrasia and Odontites; feeding on flowers, seed capsules, and seeds.
Months of appearance, distribution. Adults abroad May and June; larvae found July and August. South-east England, Central-southern England, South-west England, English Midlands, Northern England, Southern Scotland, Wales, and Ireland.
Special key characters. Hindwings pale grey, or pale ochreous and pale grey.
Illustrations. • E. plumbeolata (Lead-coloured Pug), with larva: Barrett. Eupithecia plumeolata and larva. From Barrett, Plate 389. • E. intricata arceuthata, E. intricata millieraria, E. plumbeolata, E. satyrata and E. haworthiata, with larvae: Barrett. Eupithecia. 1, E. intricata millieraria; 1a, E. intricata arceuthata. 2, E. satyrata with varieties. 3, E. plumbeolata. 4, E. haworthiata. Barrett Plate 389 (1904). • E. plumbeolata (Lead-coloured Pug), with similar Pugs: South. • E. plumbeolata (Lead-coloured Pug), with other Pugs: Swain. 1, Eupithecia tenuiata (Slender Pug); 2, E. inturbata (Maple Pug); 3, E. haworthiata (Haworth's Pug); 4, E. plumbeolata (Lead-coloured Pug); 5, E. irriguata (Marbled Pug); 6, E. exiguata (Mottled Pug); 7a & 7b, E. abietaria (Cloaked Pug); 8, E. pygmaeata (Marsh Pug); 9, E. linariata (Toadflax Pug); 10a-c, E. pulchellata (Foxglove Pug); 11, E. insignata (Pinion-spotted Pug); 12, E. valerianata (Valerian 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’.
