| | Insects of Britain and Ireland: the pug moths (Lepidoptera-Geometridae) |
Lyncometra, G. bistrigata (Haworth), G. pumilata (Hübner), G. recictaria (Boisduval), G. globulariata (Milliere)
Double-striped Pug.
Adults. Posterior tibiae of males 2-spurred (females also?). Wingspan 16–22 mm. Forewings distinctly elongate to not noticeably elongate; margin convexly curved to more or less straight; more or less straight to arched; apically somewhat pointed.
Forewings relatively conspicuously patterned; pale brownish-ochreous, darker basally and marginally,s omewhat whitish mixed and conspicuously dark-striated, the fasciae black-sprinked and often suffused reddish, the anterior edge of the median band angulated near the costa; the postmedian line obtusely angulated towards the costa, with small basally-pointing dark triangles; a much darkened part of the submarginal band approching the costa broken between the postmedian and subterminal lines by a paler patch. Forewings with a dark discal mark to without a discal mark. The discal mark when detectable, elongate. Forewing fringes somewhat chequered to not chequered.
The termen of the hindwings slightly concave; apex somewhat pointed to smoothly rounded into the costa; hindwings coloured like the forewings; hindwings patterned similarly to the forewings; hindwings conspicuously patterned; hindwings transversely striated (striated and fasciated to match the forwings, including the postmedian line with its small dark triangular marks); hindwings without a clear discal mark; fringes not conspicuously chequered.
The abdomen conspicuously patterned; with an entire black sub-basal band, or with a fuscous sub-basal band.
Neuration. Vein 10 of the forewings arising out of 11 and anastomosing with 9 to form a simple areole.
Genitalia. The male abdominal plate in the form of two separate sclerotized components. The bursa copulatrix ornamented over most of its surface; without spines.
Early stages, ecology. Botanically polyphagous. Foodplants woody-dicotyledonous and herbaceous-dicotyledonous; Aquifoliaceae, Compositae (Asteraceae), Convolvulaceae, Ericaceae, Leguminosae-Papilionoideae, Rosaceae, and Umbelliferae (Apiaceae). The larvae found on Ulex, Cytissus, Sorbus, Crataegus, Ilex, Calluna, Clematis, Convolvulus, Chaerophyllum, Senecio, Eupatorium, etc.; feeding on flowers.
Months of appearance, distribution. Adults abroad March to May, July to September; larvae found May and June, August and September. South-east England, Central-southern England, South-west England, English Midlands, Northern England, Southern Scotland, Northern Scotland, Wales, and Ireland (common everywhere except the Shetlands).
Special key characters. Forewings with small dark arrow-like markings pointing inwards from the postmedian line. Hindwings pale ochreous, or light brown, or reddish brown.
Illustrations. • G. rufifasciata (Double-striped Pug), with larva: Barrett. Gymnoscelis rufifasciata. 2, male; 2a, female; 2b, a variety; 2c, the larva. Frm Barrett, Plate 394. • Gymnoscelis rufifasciata, with Anticollix, Chloroclystis and Pasiphila: Hubner 1809–1817. • G. rufifasciata (Double-striped Pug), with other Pugs: South. • G. rufifasciata (Double-striped Pug): Swain.
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’.
