The currant pug (''Eupithecia assimilata'') is a

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

of the family

Geometridae The geometer moths are moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyleti ...

. The species was first described by Henry Doubleday in 1856. It is found across the

Nearctic The Nearctic realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting the Earth's land surface. The Nearctic realm covers most of North America, including Greenland, Central Florida, and the highlands of Mexico. The parts of North America ...

and

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. Th ...

regions. Its occurrence extends eastwards from Ireland, across Europe to the Near East, the Urals, the Ussuri region and on to the island of Sakhalin. In the Pyrenees and the Alps it rises to altitudes of 1500 and 1800 metres respectively. This species is rather similar to the

wormwood pug The wormwood pug (''Eupithecia absinthiata'') is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Carl Alexander Clerck in 1759. It is a common species across the Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeogra ...

, with warm brown forewings and a triangle of black spots close to the

costa Costa may refer to: Biology * Rib (Latin: ''costa''), in vertebrate anatomy * Costa (botany), the central strand of a plant leaf or thallus * Costa (coral), a stony rib, part of the skeleton of a coral * Costa (entomology), the leading edge of th ...

, but can be recognized by its broader wings and a more prominent white spot close to the tornus. Prout states - easily distinguished from ''absinthiata'' by its somewhat broader forewing, deeper colour, larger discal mark, more strongly developed subterminal spots, especially the posterior one, darker hindwing, with white dot or spot near anal angle, and especially by the spotted fringes. — ''grisescens'' Dietze from Central Russia and Central Asia, is smaller and much more mixed with grey. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

is 17–22 mm. Riley, A.M. and Prior, G. ''British and Irish Pug Moths A Guide to their Identification and Biology'' Apollo Books The egg has a shiny white colour and a smooth surface. The larvae are greenish in spring, reddish or brownish in late summer and show very clear reddish-brown angular spots on the back. The colour corresponds to the leaf or fruit status of the food plant. The yellow-brown pupa has green wing sheaths and is equipped with two strong and six thin hook bristles on the cremaster. Two broods are produced each year with adults on the wing in May and June and again in August. The

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

, as the name suggests, feeds on currant, but will also feed on hop. The species overwinters as a

pupa A pupa (; : pupae) is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their life cycle, the stages th ...

. The species prefers moist forest edges, shady hedges and riparian regions

Similar species

*''

Eupithecia absinthiata The wormwood pug (''Eupithecia absinthiata'') is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Carl Alexander Clerck in 1759. It is a common species across the Palearctic region as well as North America. The wingspan is ...

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)

External links

Currant pug at ''UKMoths''''Fauna Europaea''''Lepiforum e.V.''
Eupithecia Moths described in 1856 Moths of Europe Moths of Asia Taxa named by Henry Doubleday {{Eupithecia-stub